Apr 23, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: IT’S A KINDA MAGIC
OK, so we try to bring you a little bit of magic every Friday with a selection of great songs you may not have heard before, largely from...
Apr 16, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: AUTOTUNED TO PERFECTION
Did anyone watch I Can See Your Voice, the BBC show where singers are judged on appearance first by a panel of what these days are...
Apr 9, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: UPSIDE LOCKDOWNING
Rubbish. Actually, it’s the most dispiriting thing so far about this gradual easing of lockdown. I’m talking about people trashing the...
Apr 2, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: APRILLE SHOURES
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote, The droghte of March hath perced to the roote… so begins the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales...
Mar 26, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?
Those familiar with this column may recognise Test Card Girl as the solo project of Manchester singer-songwriter, Catherine Burgis,...
Mar 19, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: NEW BEGINNINGS
Next Tuesday sees the anniversary of the first UK-wide lockdown, if that is quite the right word as it implies something of a...
Mar 12, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: SHE HAS NOW
It was fitting in a week that began with International Women’s Day that Virginian Lucy Dacus finally released an established...
Mar 5, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: WIRED TO THE MOON
I always knew I should write this column a week in advance. It’s wise to have a PlanB (gratuitous mention of erstwhile, though still...
Feb 26, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: MAKING TIME FOR LOVE
When your limited listening hours each week are focused on new music, and specifically on what to feature in this column, it is not...
Feb 19, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: CAN’T GET WHAT OUT OF OUR HEADS?
Perhaps the most fascinating slice of television programming I have encountered in some time is the six-part BBC documentary series from...
Feb 12, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: THE WEATHER FORECAST
Traditionally we British are obsessed by the weather and right now it’s pretty cold out there. Not full-on Arctic cold maybe but quite...
Feb 5, 2021
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: TAKES YOU BACK
Who remembers Keith West? He was the good looking lead singer with Tomorrow, a 60s psychedelic band which also mustered Yes guitar...