Live Aid at 40: The story of a punk, a prime minister and a Britain now vanished (Part 2)

LIVE AID AT 40

THE WEEKLY MIX

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NEW RELEASE

The Lemon Twigs stream new single

‘I've Got a Broken Heart’ was released on streaming services on the 25th of November, backed by ‘Friday (I'm Gonna Love You)’.

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FEATURE

How Taylor Swift can save the music industry

The music industry is in existential crisis. Can all-conquering Miss Americana do something about it?

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RANKING

Best albums of 2025

Including the genres Americana, Britpop, singer-songwriter and R&B, and circling the globe from Australia to the Isle of Wight, here is State of Sound’s top 10 albums of 2025.

13 December 2025

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NEW RELEASE

Massive Attack announce new music for 2026

In an announcement on Instagram, the band have said a ‘cachet of work created in the recent past’ is to be released next year.

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NEWS

Singer-songwriter Emma Swift in a red dress surrounded by falling flowers.

Emma Swift to record an album of Lou Reed covers

Five years after the release of her brilliant album of Bob Dylan covers, Blonde on the Tracks, Emma Swift is putting together another.

INTERVIEW

Sleaford Mods: 7 songs that changed my life

Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson on the importance of vulnerability, his love of Ian Brown's voice and why Kneecap will never outshine the Sex Pistols.

by David Rea

6 December 2025

FEATURES

Interviews, opinions, rankings, playlists

PLAYLIST

Tangled

The December Collection

By David Rea

13 December 2025

‘People rate Gravity in their favourite records. There was trepidation’

INTERVIEW

Balloon talks about making their first LP, decades after their sublime debut.

INTERVIEW

The Red Tack: David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs changed everything

The Red Tack on dancing to the rhythm of the washing machine, infiltrating the Boston scene during the time of Dinosaur Jr. and Throwing Muses, and how Diamond Dogs changed his life.

MORE FEATURES

SACRED 7

The 7 albums, songs and riffs which changed artists’ lives

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SACRED 7

Sleaford Mods: 7 songs that changed my life

Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson on the importance of vulnerability, his love of Ian Brown's voice and why Kneecap will never outshine the Sex Pistols.

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RECORD COLLECTORS

Norman Maslov: 7 records I’d save in a fire

One of YouTube’s most popular record collectors, Norman ‘Mazzy’ Maslov explains the thrill of collecting in the 1960s, how it felt to grow up with the Beatles and why the Kinks always remind him of cheerleaders.

PET SHOP BOYS

‘All the love we hide’: The forgotten lyrics to one of Pet Shop Boys’ greatest songs

On the 40th anniversary of its original release, we explore the forgotten coda to Pet Shop Boys’ single ‘Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)’ and discover a haunting footnote to the story of 1980s Britain.

by David Rea

15 November 2025

NEWS

All the latest from the world of music and beyond

NEWS

The Lemon Twigs stream new single

‘I've Got a Broken Heart’ was released on streaming services on the 25th of November, backed by ‘Friday (I'm Gonna Love You)’.

by David Rea

29 November 2025

NEWS

Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe release new album, Liminal

Emma Swift to record album of Lou Reed covers

NEWS

Sleaford Mods release new single and announce UK tour

NEWS

Jeff Tweedy asks fans to write alternative lyrics for new song

NEWS

David Byrne shares wedding playlist

NEWS

NICK DRAKE

THE REMAKING OF NICK DRAKE: Is the complex artist finally stepping out from behind the ‘doomed genius’?

The new box set The Making of Five Leaves Left illuminates a focused and forthright artist at his genesis, and further undermines the idea he was an isolated, haunted romantic.

by David Rea

25 October 2025

ESSAYS

Cultural connections, historical perspectives

1960s MUSIC

‘It took a unique kind of courage’: how Son House beat the odds to make a masterpiece

On the 60th anniversary of its original release, we look at how Son House made Father of Folk Blues for white America.

By David Rea

18 October 2025

Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney in Scotland looking into the distance with a dog,

THE BEATLES

How the Beatles regenerated after the split

Around the time of the break up, Lennon, McCartney and Harrison moved closer to the countryside. We look at how their new homes impacted their album artwork and wonder how far they influenced their solo music.

ESSAY

How the Jam invented Britpop’s ethos

Critics couldn't take the Jam seriously at first, claiming they were just a bunch of gimmicks. But their ‘hail your heroes’ ethos was entirely authentic, setting the blueprint for Britpop two decades later.

REVIEWS

Independent opinion, informed criticism

ALBUM REVIEW

Sad and Beautiful World

Mavis Staples

In acknowledging the world’s sadness and beauty on this deeply felt album, Mavis Staples somehow finds hope too.

by David Rea

4 November 2025

Emerge, Return

The Bookshop Band

The Resurrection Game

Emma Swift

All is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade

Robyn Hitchcock at the EartH theatre in London.

Live Aid at 40: The story of a punk, a prime minister and a Britain now vanished (Part 2)

THE WEEKLY MIX

Best albums of 2025

Sleaford Mods: 7 songs that changed my life

FEATURES

Tangled

SACRED 7

‘All the love we hide’: The forgotten lyrics to one of Pet Shop Boys’ greatest songs

NEWS

The Lemon Twigs stream new single

THE REMAKING OF NICK DRAKE: Is the complex artist finally stepping out from behind the ‘doomed genius’?

ESSAYS

‘It took a unique kind of courage’: how Son House beat the odds to make a masterpiece

REVIEWS

Sad and Beautiful World

MOST POPULAR

All is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade, Of Monsters and Men

1.

THE REMAKING OF NICK DRAKE: Is the complex artist finally stepping out from behind the ‘doomed genius’?

2.

Mother nature’s sons: how the Beatles regenerated after the split

3.

Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are a-Changin' at 60

4.

David Byrne shares wedding playlist

5.

Shapes Like People: ‘I almost decapitated Kylie Minogue with a scissor kick’

6.

The Resurrection Game, Emma Swift

7.

Oasis’ Definitely Maybe at 30

8.

Robyn Hitchcock: Blissful transcendence in East London

9.

Ticking Haze, Shapes Like People

10.

A new issue every Saturday morning…