Thank you, first of all, to everyone who has taken out a subscription to Uncut, bought a copy from our online shop or downloaded a digital edition recently. Iā€™m humbled and honoured by your continuing support for Uncut ā€“ and never more so than during these strange times.

While Uncut endures ā€“ alas, the same is not true of some of our musical heroes. During our last week of production on this issue, we lost Tony Allen, Dave Greenfield and ā€“ two days before we went to press ā€“ Florian Schneider. We have managed to bid to them farewell in this issue, as well as a longer eulogy to John Prine that weā€™ve been working on for some weeks. Unfortunately, we were too late to pay tribute to Betty Wright and Little Richard: they will both be commemorated in future issues of Uncut.

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Speaking of Schneider… Kraftwerk fans, please note, there’s a rather handsome Ultimate Music Guide devoted to Dusseldorf’s finest available to buy now from our online shop.

Thereā€™s plenty to look forward to in the next issue of Uncut. Not least our 15-track Cosmic Cratedigging CD ā€“ compiled for us by our friends at Light In The Attic Records. This is one for Uncut heads ā€“ thereā€™s psychedelic soul, avant-garde pop, weird folk, kosmiche electronics and experimental jazz thatā€™s guaranteed to provide some respite during these troubling times.

Elsewhere, we mark Bob Marleyā€™s 75th anniversary celebrations with a deep dive into one of his most creatively adventurous years ā€“ a momentous 12-month period of London exile that not only caught Marleyā€™s uncompromising faith and politics in full flight, but also his charismatic, universalist touch. Graeme Thomson hears the inside story from Chris Blackwell, Marcia Griffiths, Aston ā€˜Family Manā€™ Barrett, Junior Marvin and other eyewitnesses.

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Beyond our first Bob Marley cover for 20 years, can I steer you towards John Robinsonā€™s splendid survey of Marc Bolanā€™s rise to glam superstar, or Rob Hughes moving eulogy to John Prine (assisted by Bonnie Raitt, Margo Price and others), Tom Pinnockā€™s pre-lockdown encounter with Canā€™s architect-in-chief Irmin Schmidt or Erin Osmonā€™s colourful trip through Courtney Marie Andrewsā€™ life and times to date.

Thereā€™s much more, too ā€“ Joy Division, Paul Weller, Captain Beefheart, Sparks, Guided By Voices, Tim Burgess, Joan As Police Woman. Dig in ā€“ and, as ever, let us know what you thinkā€¦

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