Ian Harrison

London

Associate Editor, News at MOJO

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mojo4music.com

Articles

Peter Murphy: “Could a Bauhaus reunion happen again? I doubt it, but I’ve learned not to say never…”

2 weeks ago | mojo4music.com | Ian Harrison

Bauhaus’s undead idol on his new album, the enduring allure of goth, baldness, watching cartoons upside down and his secret bat-healing abilities. Born in Northampton in 1957, Peter Murphy is to some observers forever the vampiric, balletic frontman of goth prime movers Bauhaus. With a discography much more than 1979’s totemic debut Bela Lugosi’s Dead, that group flamed out in 1983. Murphy duly began his solo recording career in 1986, with 2002’s Dust a particular highlight.
Every Pulp Album Ranked From Worst To Best

3 weeks ago | mojo4music.com | Ian Harrison

With new album More. recently announced, MOJO looks back over Jarvis Cocker and co.’s long playing excursions to date. While many fans may have first become aware of them with the dazzling, Britpop-era double-header of 1994’s His’N’Hers and the peerless Different Class in 1995, Pulp’s history stretches much further back.
Scott Walker: “I think people ought to just start trying a little harder.”

1 month ago | mojo4music.com | Ian Harrison

Remembering Scott Walker, MOJO returns to a West London bookshop and an atypically illuminating encounter with one of the most enigmatic figures in music. In 2013, existential enigma Scott Walker returned with a staggering new album, Bish Bosch. A dense, at times almost impenetrable, hybrid of rock and classical composition with wildly divergent themes, it was an album that demanded - and rewarded - concentrated listening.
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry: “God send me to destroy the Presidents, the governments, the police…”

1 month ago | mojo4music.com | Ian Harrison

Remembering Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, MOJO revisits a classic, brain-scrambling encounter with the high priest of dub. Was Lee “Scratch” Perry – inventor of reggae, alchemist of sound, “God’s Scientist” – authentically crackers? Or was it an act to deflect gangsters and journalists? Or a vibration from a higher plane of existence? In 2019 – as he revealed more than usual in a brilliant new album Rainford – MOJO wondered if Scratch would deign to explain himself?
Jeff Bridges interviewed: “A window into the secret musical life of The Dude!”

2 months ago | mojo4music.com | Ian Harrison

The Big Lebowski star unveils his great lost album!Jeff Bridges’ film career has, of course, taken in such essential movies as The Last Picture Show and The Big Lebowski. But he’s also a musician of long standing - see his T Bone Burnett-produced solo LP from 2011, and more - which brings us to one of Record Store Day 2025’s most intriguing releases.
Mark E. Smith and The Fall's ten greatest songs.

2 months ago | mojo4music.com | Ian Harrison

Memorex For The Krakens! MOJO’s 10-track Mark E. Smith and The Fall mix-tape, for any occasion!1. Industrial Estate(from Live At The Witch Trials, 1979)Poetically-illuminated, scraping northern English punk gravel about the indignity of labour. Why he’s saying “yeah, yeah”? The sound of rubbish in bracken, glimpsed through wire fences. 2. Fiery Jack(from Totale’s Turns, 1979)Medieval demon-gargoyle meets speeding alco-rockabilly, amid the slathering-on of deep heat treatment.
The Making Of Marianne Faithfull’s Broken English: “Before I die I’m going to show you bastards who I am…”

Jan 31, 2025 | shorturl.at | Ian Harrison

On 2 November, 1979 Marianne Faithfull’s acclaimed comeback LP, Broken English, was released. AS THE SEVENTIES DREW TO A CLOSE, THE ROLLING STONES WERE IN NEW YORK mixing their next big-seller Emotional Rescue, with some partying with Stevie Wonder and, in Ron Wood’s case, sharing a stage with Bob Marley in California thrown in. Few were thinking of their old, infamous friend from the sixties Marianne Faithfull.
Mark E Smith: “I was too soft with the band. I spoiled them to death…”

Jan 23, 2025 | mojo4music.com | Ian Harrison

Seven years on from Mark E Smith’s death, MOJO revisits one of our last encounters with The Fall’s autocratic genius. For over four decades, The Fall’s leader Mark E Smith opened art-rock fissures in reality, passed merciless judgment on his enemies and led his legendary group to the edge of destruction, repeatedly. “It’s a constant state of battle,” he told MOJO's Ian Harrison in 2018. In remembrance of one of music's true one-offs, we've revisited the encounter in full...
Mark E. Smith: “I was too soft with the band. I spoiled them to death…”

Jan 23, 2025 | shorturl.at | Ian Harrison

Seven years on from Mark E. Smith’s death, MOJO revisits one of our last encounters with The Fall’s autocratic genius. For over four decades, The Fall’s leader Mark E. Smith opened art-rock fissures in reality, passed merciless judgment on his enemies and led his legendary group to the edge of destruction, repeatedly. “It’s a constant state of battle,” he told MOJO's Ian Harrison in 2016. In remembrance of one of music's true one-offs, we've revisited the encounter in full...
ELO’s Jeff Lynne: “This is not a farewell to music!”

Dec 18, 2024 | mojo4music.com | Ian Harrison

Jeff Lynne speaks to MOJO’s about ELO’s farewell show next year, but promises more new music to come. Of all the gigs to see in 2025 one bittersweet experience will be the final show ever by Electric Light Orchestra. Part of the BST concert series at London’s Hyde Park, the famous ELO flying saucer will land one last time on July 13 for the climax of the world jaunt aptly-named The Over And Out Tour.