I really didn't need the whole Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack album but it was necessary to hear the greatest live set there is...  Let's examine the evidence of that Live Aid gig:

You start with the first two and a half minutes of one of the greatest songs ever (Bohemian Rhapsody) and then just as you reach the operatic section you segue into the fairlight keyboards of Radio Ga Ga and indulge in the most momentous synchronised hand clapping of all time

Then you get a bit of a singalong with Freddie before Hammer to Fall rocks out

(The album misses out Crazy Little Thing Called Love and the short burst of We Will Rock You for some reason....)

Finally you top off the set with the ultimate triumphant closing number -We Are Champions

That is how you do a gig and that is why Queen were and are the greatest band ever

You should never really drunkenly order vinyl just because it looks cool but sometimes you get lucky.

I had never heard of Author & Punisher but the new album was on blue and silver limited edition splatter vinyl and on Relapse Records so it had to be alright...





This guy builds his own drone machines to create music and it's a cross between the Downward Spiral and Demanufacture by Fear Factory.

This may just be one of the great pieces of art masquerading as music.....

In Death It Ends have released a 'live' album from Pendleshire Polytechnic in 1979 - As the band didn't exist then , have never played lived and I'm fairly sure the Polytechnic is not real this is fascinating idea.

The whole album is one continuous track, sort of like a bootleg, the first 4 minutes are the sound of a band tuning up, then the crowd cheers as the band walk on and away we go.

The setlist is a sort of greatest hits (assuming the band had hits) and are slightly different arrangements to the studio versions

There are between track introductions and background crowd noises in the quiet parts but all of it is fake... The CD comes with ticket stub, flyer and poster to complete the package.

The whole concept is utterly brilliant and as such is actually one of the great albums of all time

Alright, I'm probably forty years too late to the party but I've finally bought a Status Quo album!

There are actually two releases out - One is an acoustic set from the Royal Albert Hall and the other is a full electric set from the Wacken Festival... No prizes for guessing which I chose

With a set picked to please a crowd of boozed up metalheads there are no Burning Bridges or Marguerita Time on view here. Opening with Caroline is always a good idea and the whole concert is very muscular for a band considered past their prime

In the Army now is a great singalong for a open air festival (even daring to change the lyrics from damn to shit...) and the instrumental part of Roll Over Lay Down is particularly heavy.

Add in Rocking All Over the World, Paper Plane and Down, Down and I'm not sure you really need to awn another Quo album

A couple of months after hearing her first single, I've now got a copy of the album Dream Punching by Happy Axe... The name is just a pseudonym for a young Australian multi instrumentalist

The sound is all disconcerting soundscapes punctuated by the ghostlike whine of a saw and strident violin. A dreamy vocal then envelops the whole venture

The single Seven Sounds is extended to over 7 minutes while Prayers & Mantras with it's clattering beats is the closest thing to a commercial song

What this album really should be is a soundtrack to Picnic at Hanging Rock which brings me to my first TV review....

Simply the best show on TV this year the six part adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock was pure art house, delicious Victorian gothic, virginal lesbianism and wonderful indulgence. Like the earlier film there were no answers, plenty of questions and some stunning imagery.

Natalie Dormer as the aloof Miss Appleyard was one of the best TV acting performance I've seen in a long time - I so need to re-watch when the DVD is released

Some more weird and wonderful things from the frozen north... The latest album, No Need to Reason, from Icelandic band Kontinuum is an odd mix

Firstly I really don't like the opening track, Shivers. I don't really know why but it reeks of a hackneyed attempt at latter day Katatonia (which I'm not a fan of). However by persevering to tracks 3 and 4 the album really gets going. Warm Blood turns the guitars up to a crunchier level and Neuron then slows it all done to a stately pace.....

It's a bit of a shame that the mix of vocals in both Icelandic and English has been dropped but the ballad like Two Moons is still worth checking out

There are bits of 'Goth', a splash of Echo and the Bunnymen and modern Scandinavian morose metal to be found in varying degrees - even the occasional death growl to shake things up. It's not as an immediate album as the earlier Kyrr but it could be a grower

A quick run through some recently released stand alone singles.....

First up Shovels & Rope with America, Great. It's the most lyrically toothless anti Trump song since Roger Waters dared to call him a nincompoop. However it's still good to hear a stompin' track from this duo

Next up are Peter Yates (Nephilim) and Evi Vine (Eden House) with two minutes of basically nothing. All the People consist of a couple of guitar strums and a plaintive vocal and that's it. Rather inconsequential

Happy Axe is a young woman from Australia and the single Seven Sounds is weird but in a good way. Strident violin and I think a saw (!) give way to skittish electronic beats. Worth keeping an eye on

Finally kudos to AWS who decided to try and win the Eurovision contest for Hungary with a full on metal track. Viszlát nyár comes complete with half shouted/ half screamed chorus and a hard riffing instrumental section. Turn up to 11.....