This edition of The Essential 10 , our quickfire introduction to a wide range of my favourite artists, features The Replacements ; an act that managed seven studio albums over a tumultuous career that spanned 1979 to 1992 (and briefly 2012-2015). The Minneapolis band were well known for their often ramshackle gigs, the lo-fi garage band albums and an almost wilful resistance to make any attempt to become successful (see their shambolic appearance on SNL as an example). 1. I

The sad news came out this morning, via his Facebook site, that reggae legend Jimmy Cliff had died, "due to a seizure followed by pneumonia." The post, written by his wife Latifa Chambers, went on to say; "To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career. He really appreciated each and every fan for their love." Photo: Getty Images Jimmy Cliff was a transitional musician, one of the key people to bring reggae wider g

Well, it's been a few months, but it was high time to roll out another bunch of top cover versions for you. They might not be originals, but that shouldn't detract from the quality. So, for our seventh selection of covers, we have ten great alternate takes on older tunes - and this time, we cover a wealth of genres, from classic pop, indie and alt-rock, through country and garage punk. As ever, there should be something in here for everyone.... 1. Echo & The Bunnymen: People

A post that cropped up on one of my social media feeds, gives us the idea for today's story... and it's not entirely music based, but an interesting one nonetheless. Rhoda Dakar was at the heart of the 2 Tone ska scene of the late 1970s and 80s. She had hits with the all-girl ska band, The Bodysnatchers , who toured with The Selector - and then teamed up with Jerry Dammers in his post The Specials band, handily named The Special AKA . Later on, she released solo work, worke

It's mid autumn, getting chillier and damper, and that can only mean that over the pond, the NFL is getting towards the business end of its season. So, I wondered if we could make a playlist out of it? The two teams I mostly follow (49ers and Chiefs) are both having something of an up and down season, but our official family team - the Denver Broncos - are having a stormer so far and are well on track for the play-offs. So, just in case it all goes wrong, we are running with

So, we say goodbye to one of the more distinctive British drummers of the last 50 years, with the news that Gilson Lavis has died today, aged 74. He is perhaps best known for his work through the late 70s and 80s with Squeeze , before moving across to be at the back of fellow Squeeze alumnus Jools Holland's Rhythm & Blues Orchestra . He was actually born David Leslie Gilson Lavis , in Bedfordshire, back in 1951. He was already an accomplished and well seasoned drummer before

At times it felt like Courtney Love’s infamous relationship with Kurt Cobain was more of a circus sideshow than a marriage built on love. The pair were seemingly drowning in their drug habit, yet somehow trying to raise a small child at the same time. For many fans of Nirvana, it seems that Love has always been very much a persona non grata; a bad influence and possibly the ultimate ruination of Cobain. So, was it as simple as that - is Courtney Love really a manipulative, ta