“I tried to describe with the song what it was like to feel that rush, that elation, and then the awful sleep that comes with that drug, and then scream, ‘I’m wide awake!’”: How U2 created the experimental anti-drug song that lit up Live Aid
“All credit to Les Paul and Paul Reed Smith, but they were never inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”: RKS Guitars’ Ravi Sawhney on the late Dave Mason’s musical legacy – and how it lives on in the guitar brand they founded
“Frank Zappa was in the same league as Lennon and McCartney. He was an extraordinary songwriter”: How Conrad St. Clair went from Juilliard-trained flautist to playing 6-string bass with The Furious Bongos and soundchecking B.B. King
“When I first saw the Strokes performing in New York, I was much more interested in the band that opened up for them”: Gordon Raphael tells us about his first meeting with The Strokes
“He didn’t just make an album – he opened a door that a generation of artists walked through”: How Frank Ocean broke the hip-hop rulebook with his 2016 magnum opus
“I said to the band, ‘The good news is that we’ve got a hit, but the bad news is that you’re not on it!’”: The surprising story of the Blow Monkeys’ AIDS crisis-inspired Digging Your Scene, with new insight from its writer
“I’ve spent more time with that guitar than with any human – that’s one of my best friends”: Studio gurus Swindle and Ashton Sellars on the making of Kojey Radical’s Don’t Look Down
“I’d never heard anyone or anything like Johnny before. It was unique – he sounded like four guitarists all at once”: The story of The Smiths’ buoyant breakthrough hit
“Everyone thinks it’s a guitar, but actually, they don’t know it’s my modular synth”: How a Roland TR-909 and a modular rig provided the spark of inspiration for Harry Styles’ most euphoric No 1 single
Mark Knopfler on why he switched Strats for Schecters in the 1980s: “I was looking for something with a bit more power”
“If I’d been around at the dawn of electric-guitar development, what would I have made? I find that idea incredibly attractive”: Andy Powers revolutionized high-end acoustic guitars with Taylor – can he do the same for the electric?
“The title came up as a joke at first, but it fitted the song so perfectly – we just had to use it”: How Massive Attack created the groundbreaking ’90s hit that propelled Bristol’s unique music scene into the global spotlight
The best new gear this week, feat. a new type of metal guitar, the return of Jeff Buckley’s beloved Ovation – and a Fender collab we didn’t see coming
“Jaco was unbelievable. He didn’t think like a traditional bass player. He heard melody, harmony and rhythm all at the same time”: Guitar genius Al Di Meola recalls his collaborations with Jaco Pastorius, Phil Collins, Steve Gadd, John McLaughlin and more
“Albums are so important… to come from a place where it’s all about singles and chasing the next thing, I just feel so grateful to be recognised”: Raye wins the 2026 Mercury Prize
“It’s very hard to write three-chord songs on a piano. So I get this synthesizer, which sounds like a guitar, and I can write three-chord songs all of a sudden”: How Elton John reinvented his sound and resurrected his career with I’m Still Standing
“It’s a standard, really – everyone looks like they’re absolutely loving hearing it”: The band behind a 24-carat indie classic tell us how it was made
“It’s often said that limitations breed creativity – is there anything more limited than a one-button synth?”: Cyma Forma RND review
