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THE BEATLES: With a new boxset collecting the Fabs’ ’64 US LPs, eyewitnesses and contemporaries relive the mania of the British Invasion. “In music, there is The Beatles and then there is everybody else…”

VAN MORRISON: The Celtic soul guru on jamming with The Band, recording with Cliff, why he no longer performs “Brown Eyed Girl”, old songs and new arrangements, Veedon Fleece at 50, the nature of creativity and more. “I am nostalgic. But it’s my nostalgia, you know…”

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MICHAEL KIWANUKA: Drawing inspiration from Gene Clark and “obsessed” with David Gilmour’s guitar phrasing, the Mercury Prize winner is once again upping the stakes with his consciousness-raising, widescreen soul party. “You’ve gotta keep speaking up,”

PETER PERRETT: Clean and healthy, the Only One is on a career roll with The Cleansing – a gloriously ambitious and death-defying double that’s his third album in seven years. “I have a mantra: each day we survive is a revolutionary act!”

SPACEMEN 3: Psychedelic outsiders on the ’80s UK indie scene, they were on the cusp of success before combusting spectacularly. “We were a pretty dysfunctional group of people. We recognised that in each other.”

CHRISTOPHER OWENS: The former Girls frontman reflects on his journey back from heartbreak and loss to find catharsis in a powerful new album. “You find yourself going from the best place in your life to the worst.”

AN AUDIENCE WITH… STEVE CROPPER: The Stax legend talks Memphis water, John Belushi on acid and Friday night “schwimps” with Eddie Floyd.

THE MAKING OF “THE WILD ONES” BY SUEDE: As Dog Man Star took shape, a ray of shining romantic beauty shone through a crack in the stormclouds.

ALBUM BY ALBUM WITH THE LIJADU SISTERS: Merging Afrobeat with jazz, rock and disco, the Nigerian siblings made waves sonically and socially.

MY LIFE IN MUSIC WITH SIMON RAYMONDE: The Cocteau Twin turned Bella Union label boss itemises his aural treasures

REVIEWED: Laura Marling, Bright Eyes, Anna Butterss, Fat Dog, Wayne Graham, Geordie Greep, Naima Bock, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan & The Band, Kevin Ayers, Dorothy Ashby, End Of The Road Festival, PJ Harvey, Lush, ’70s reggae, Neneh Cherry and more

PLUS: Farewell Catherine Ribeiro and Alain Delon, David Bowie, Gruff Rhys vs Bill Ryder-Jones, Doc’n Roll festival, Chuck Prophet, King Hannah and… rock’s holy relics!

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