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Darlene Love
Let Love Rule
The Lost Years and Sweet Redemption of Darlene Love.
By David Browne
Photograph by Mark Seliger
‘That was way over the top!” howls Darlene Love. the topic is Al Pacino’s portrayal of her old boss Phil Spector, in the recent HBO biopic. “Phil would never shoot off a gun in the studio – not with musicians around!” We’re in a drab ad hoc backstage area in a Manhattan office building, but Love’s indestructible smile and ebullient manner are lighting up the room. Without even hearing her sing, you can understand why everyone from Marvin Gaye to Cher wanted her backing them up.
Fuzigish
DIY or Die
After two decades, the South African ska-punk legends are still going strong, still producing albums with a mighty sting in the tail, still pulling new fans into the tribe and still playing shows that are so good they hurt.
By Billy Rivers
My hand shook as it gripped the new album. There was excitement, yes, but also fear. The slot of my CD player beckoned, its open maw bathed in cheap green neon, waiting to be fed, ready to make or break something essential. My love for one of Jo’burg’s watermark bands hung in the balance. Here was a rare act that had been blasting the dissidents of this not-so-fair city with ass-kicking ska-punk sounds for over 16 years.
Johnny Clegg
THE ROLLING STONE INTERVIEW
“We know you,” say the women passing through the Westcliff Hotel’s Polo Lounge, where I’m sitting with Johnny Clegg one fine autumn day.
By Diane Coetzer
Photograph by Chris Saunders
“Friends?” I ask as they bustle off towards the hotel’s wide verandah, from which the view – few would contest – offers the best evidence of Johannesburg’s claim to house the largest inhabited man-made forest in the world. “No,” says Clegg. “I still have a huge recognition factor.” This is not a boast. Over a storied 34-year career that spans five-million-plus records sold, countless live performances and multiple awards, the boy from Bacup, England,
Tracy Chapman
September 22, 1988
She’s at the top of the charts, and now everyone’s talkin’ ‘bout Tracy. The young singer with the powerful blues voice is 1988’s most hyped new artist. But her subtle, expressive songs about poverty and racism speak for themselves.
By Steve Pond
"Excuse me, are you Tracy Chapman?" She hears the question everywhere she goes, and her response is always the same. First, her eyesflash with wariness and momentary distaste; she looks as if she were ready to deny it and walk away. Then she grins: it’s an embarrassed, nervous grin, not a happy grin. Then she looks down at the ground, and withoutr aising her eyes, she nods her head, quickly and almost imperceptibly.