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Articles by Michael Stuart

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About Michael Stuart

After university, Michael spent twelve years working for MELODY MAKER before going freelance. He claims to keep doing it because it is all he knows. More Posts

Looking for the future

As die-hard rock and blues fans, my brothers and I like a bit of live music and so, on a half-recommendation picked up by one of us in Putney’s Half Moon pub, we congregated last night at The Borderline club off the Tottenham Court Road to watch some young bands strut their stuff. It’s been a [...]

February 19, 2014 // 0 Comments

The kind of thing that passes me by

This week the world has been mourning the passing of highly-respected banjo-plucking folk music legend Pete Seeger at the age of 94. I’ve been reading a range of obituaries setting out the highlights of his long career and the extent of his influence upon American society that extended way [...]

January 29, 2014 // 0 Comments

For those who do what I cannot

Overnight reports have been appearing in the media about the murder of Roger Pratt, a British businessman, in St Lucia – where he and his wife had reached halfway through a year-long sailing holiday to celebrate her 60th birthday. Apparently, he was beaten up and eventually shot by three armed [...]

January 19, 2014 // 0 Comments

That’s the Big One over …

Phew – well, that’s another annual day of festive excess survived! The Stuarts converged upon Wandsworth shortly before 9.00am yesterday for more fun, dietary blow-outs and general mayhem. I had taken an early decision to ‘pass’ on any snacks before lunch, so sat by and watched as [...]

December 26, 2013 // 0 Comments

As the eleventh hour approaches

Monday 23rd December, 1255 hours: Chaos, a state with which the Stuarts are not unfamiliar, has now taken up full-blown residence as we enter Christmas week. So has my son Barry. I’m not implying that those two statements are necessarily connected, but you can draw your own conclusions, as I do [...]

December 23, 2013 // 0 Comments

And a Merry Christmas to you too!

Christmas is traditionally a time of festive joy, fun, presents, turkey, drinks, over-eating and family reunions. I’m sure my National Rust readers will be delighted to learn this year the Stuarts will be complete, in the sense that my son Barry will be joining us. A professional yachtsman based [...]

December 18, 2013 // 0 Comments

Remembering a British blues legend

Pure self-indulgence this, but I’m not apologising. I’m a committed fan of live music and especially blues or old-style R & B. Having been a teenager in the 1960s, the blues first came to my attention via the Rolling Stones, probably their Little Red Rooster single, if I’m trying to be [...]

December 11, 2013 // 0 Comments

Recommendation – an article on self-love in the Daily Mail

Spotted on the website of the Daily Mail today is this article on the supposed health benefits of masturbation – see here: DAILY MAIL I’m not qualified enough to confirm whether these findings are accurate or not, but the story did bring to mind an incident of about four decades ago, [...]

December 6, 2013 // 0 Comments

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A CLASSIC CASE

Many years ago I recall a teacher at my school who became a holocaust denying bishop ordained at Harrods railing against Pop music on the basis that JS Bach is always in the top ten. The observation must have resonated with me as 45 years on I still recall it. Over the last few years as my tastes [...]

November 11, 2013 // 0 Comments

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ROCK MUSIC BYWAYS: SOME GIRLS (1978) by the Rolling Stones

They say you can tell someone’s age by their favourite popular music choices, so make what you will of the fact that precious few of mine originated later than 1980. Since then there has grown a trend for artistes to release deluxe or anthology editions of their catalogues, often including in [...]

November 7, 2013 // 0 Comments

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