Phenomenal multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter FRANK ZAPPA
was born on 21 December 1940 in Baltimore. He would have celebrated his
85th birthday today.
Zappa Magazines.
CIRCUS Magazine – 1967
ROLLING STONE – 1968
CREEM – 1974
CASHBOX – 1982
KEYBOARD Magazine – 1987
Zappa passed away on 4 December 1993 due to cancer. R.I.P.
15 December 2025
The iconic photo taken by Pennie Smith in New York, 1979
Paul Gustave Simonon was born on 15 December 1955.
Happy 70 to the cool-as-hell bass casanova of the last
band in town, The Clash.
To celebrate, here’s the first song Simonon, who grew
up in Brixton, wrote for the band. His pumping reggae
bass money-maker Guns Of Brixton, from the classic
double LP ‘London Calling‘.
When they kick at your front door
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun
When the law break in
How you gonna go?
Shot down on the pavement
Or waiting on death row
You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you’ll have to answer to
Oh, the guns of Brixton
On top: the iconic photo taken by Pennie Smith in New York, 1979.
22 November 2025
Credits: Far Out Magazine / CC-BY-SA
Tina was born Martina Michèle Weymouth, on 22 November 1950 in Colorado, CA.
Happy 75 to the glorious, former Talking Head and Tom Tom Club bassist.
Perfect choice.
21 November 2025
Front cover debut album
BJÖRK was born named Björk Guðmundsdóttir
in Reykjavík, Iceland on 21 November 1965.
Happy 60 to a unique artist who started her career with
alt pop-rock band The Sugarcubes (1986-1992 / 3 albums).
In 1993 her first solo LP Debut came out. So far she made/released
10 longlayers with Fossora from 2022 as her most recent one.
She has sold more than 40 million albums. Over the years, she focused on connecting
her music with remarkable visual performances on stage and for her records’ artwork.
She also played in a couple of movies.
THE SUGARCUBES
SOLO
18 November 2025
British prolific songsmith and terrific voice
GRAHAM PARKER was born in Hackney,
London on 18 November 1970.
Happy 75 to one of the greatest rock
and soul voices ever (to my ears).
He played in a couple of pub bands before forming his group
The Rumour with whom he recorded/released 6 albums with their
5-star masterpiece Squeezing Out Sparks that came out in 1978.
Later on Parker played solo, released records with different
backing bands and reunited the Rumour from 1992 to 1995.
His most recent longplayer is Last Chance To Do The Twist,
released in 2023.
Let’s do his 1977 classic
THE NEW YORK SHUFFLE
to start the birthday party.
And do the New York shuffle, baby New York scuffle,
Going to stay awake all night
Do the New York shuffle, baby New York scuffle,
Get yourself uptight, get uptight
12 November 2025
Living rock legend NEIL YOUNG was born on 12 November 1945 in Toronto, Canada.
Happy 80 to the imperishable, iconic singer-songwriter. He has released about
a thousand albums since 1963. He worked solo, regularly recorded with his pals
Crazy Horse, and played with three other memorable voices: Crosby, Stills, & Nash and Buffalo Springfield, a long time ago.
On his newest album, Talkin’ To The Trees, released last
June, he’s assisted by his new band The Chrome Hearts
.
In between, he keeps on coming up with old stuff from his
inexhaustible Archives, which seem to be inexhaustible.
And he still performs live.
Keep on rockin’ in the free world, Neil.
7 November 2025
Photograph by Kevin Westenberg
Much lauded Irish songsmith NEIL HANNON, mastermind of THE DIVINE COMEDY
for 36 years now was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 7 November 1970.
Happy 55 to a bona fide singer-songwriter.
Last September TDC launched their 13th LP,
titled RAINY SUNDAY AFTERNOON
TUTV said: “Once a dreamy crooner, always a dreamy crooner.
Hannon designs smooth musings for years now and still is very
good at it.”
Happy 53!
Many happy returns, Liam.
19 August 2025
Gillan, 2nd from the right
Singer IAN GILLAN was born in Chiswick, Middlesex, England
on 19 August 1945. Happy 80 to one of the greatest voices
ever in rock history.
He joined hard rock titans DEEP PURPLE in 1969 (they were named Episode Six
at that point) after being in several local bands. He left the band already in 1973,
after 5 LPs, to go solo with his own band and he also was the singer for Black Sabbath
for one year in 1983.
Gillan returned to the group in 1993, and has remained its lead singer ever since.
Many rock fans, certainly the fanatic ones, will remember him always for his jaw-dropping vocal tour de force on their 10-minute classic Child In Time from their notorious 1970 LP ‘Deep Purple In Rock‘. Watch/hear a spectacular live version above.
That classic – reworked instrumentally – is now part of the soundtrack for the fifth
season of American sf-horror series Stranger Things, which starts streaming on Netflix from November 26 onward. Listen to the new version below.
.
12 August 2025
The brothers Ron and Russell Mael known to the world as SPARKS
are around since 1966. Yes, that’s 59 years and no sign of retirement.
Music is the dominant element in their DNA. They can’t stop.
They released their 28th (!) album, entitled MAD! last May.
1971
Today RON, the oldest, the weird one, celebrates his 80th birthday.
He was born on 12 August 1945 in Culver City, California. Congratulations.
THEN
NOW