BUSHELL ON THE BLOG
Oct 5. A great pleasure to catch up with my old pal Steve ‘Harry’ Harris of Iron Maiden for today’s Sunday Express cover – more than 45 years since I first interviewed him. Things have changed a little. He’s in the Bahamas. I’m still in south London… Plus I’m talking telly with Veteran actor Terry Molloy, best known for playing Mick Tucker in The Archers and Doctor Who villain Davros. Here’s Steve online.
Oct 4. Controversy corner: the worst-ever 11 British TV sitcoms…
Plus the unexpected joys of the BBC archive HERE.
And here’s tomorrow’s Bushell On The Box.
Oct 3. Today's albums: Oasis's 30th anniversary Morning Glory re-release, plus new studio albums from Carter Faith, Idlewild & under-rated prog rockers Pavlov’s Dog. All reviewed in the Express and the Mirror and online.
Sept 28 I’m chatting to the great Lee Child, creator of Reacher, in today’s Sunday Express Review & talking telly with Radio X DJ Toby Tarrant. Plus Bushell On The Box on ITV’s 70th. Lee chat & TV reviews also online.
Sept 26. Album reviews! Robert Plant, Terry Hall, Sprints, Johnny Marr, & Biffy Clyro, all in today’s Daily Express and Daily Mirror, and online now along with last week’s reviews of The Milk, Cardi B, Led Zeppelin, and Teenage Bottlerocket.
Sept 25. Here’s an early look at Sunday’s Bushell On The Box TV reviews.
Sept 20. Controversy Corner: Britain’s worst 11 TV comedians.
Sept 14. Classical crossover star Matteo Bocelli is today’s Sunday Express Review cover star & I’m talking telly with Nina Wadia ahead of the CWIP Awards. Plus Bushell On The Box on the decline of TV sketch shows, the NTAs and more.
Sept 13. I’m asking for it of course, but here is my list of the all-time Top Ten British comedy sketch shows…
Sept 12. The political assassination of Charles Kirk was shocking enough, but the reaction of the far Left on social media is sickening. I don’t agree with everything Kirk believed. But what I did agree with was his right to express it openly and without fear. Kirk was one of the brightest minds of his generation, a future US President in waiting. My thoughts are with his wife and children. It’s abhorrent to try and justify his murder.
The word ‘Nazi’ is chucked around like a beach ball these days. He’s got a flag, he’s a Nazi!! She likes JK Rowling, another Nazi! When everyone you disagree with is Hitler, it devalues reality, fuels hate and destroys rational debate. It also cheapens the meaning of the word. When we think of National Socialism we think of an ideology wedded to state capitalism whose proponents curtailed freedom of speech, cancelled and jailed those who opposed them, burnt books, persecuted Jewish people, and thought they had an unalienable right to break laws to enforce their toxic beliefs up to and including murder. Sound familiar? It seems to me that the people closest to being modern day Nazis are the ones doing all the name-calling.
Today’s album reviews: new releases from Ed Sheeran, Baxter Dury and Matteo Bocelli, plus a splendid early Spandau boxset only in the Express, the Mirror and online now. Keep print alive, buy a paper.
Sept 11. The National Television Awards are as relevant to modern viewers as a VHS recorder.
Sept 7. Soul sensation Kenny Thomas is today’s Sunday Express Review cover star and I’m talking telly with actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe. Plus Bushell on the Box on the week’s TV lows and highs. Here’s Kenny…
Sept 5. Today’s album reviews: Humble Pie, Suede, Sabrina Carpenter, Apollo Junction and a 2xLP Toyah retrospective. Read all about it in the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror and online.
Aug 31. Sunday Express I’m chatting to versatile actress Lucy ‘Lisa Fowler’ Benjamin about resurrecting Jane Austen’s Emma as a modern-day Essex girl in today’s Sunday Express Review, and talking telly with comedian Emmanuel Sonubi. Plus Bushell on the Box steams into BBC1’s dismal King & Conqueror.
Aug 29. A shed load of new albums today including Kingfishr, CMAT, Sabrina Carpenter, Belinda Carlisle, Wolf Alice & The Beths. Most reviewed in the Express and the Mirror, all reviewed online.
Aug 28. Why BBC1’s “acquisition” King & Conqueror is a farce.
Aug 24. I’m chatting to Belinda Carlisle in today’s Sunday Express Review & talking telly with Charlotte Jackson Coleman; plus Bushell on the Box on Jasper Carrott, Tommy Fury & more.
Aug 22. Today’s album reviews: John Fogerty reclaims his Creedence Clearwater Revival legacy, new albums from UMI & Steve Rothery's Bioscope, plus unheard Woody Guthrie. All in today's Express and Mirror.
Aug 21. Who are the Top Ten greatest UK TV stand-up comedians? Only a lunatic would try and list them.
Aug 18. Two Kinds Of Strangers – another terrific Eddie Flynn novel from Steve Cavanagh. Grips like Rebecca Loos in a pig pen. A Flynn TV series is long overdue.
Aug 15. Ozzy has gone, but rock will never die… Today’s album reviews, in the Express and the Mirror, and online here.
Aug 14. Some thoughts on TV’s poignant VJ Day coverage here.
Aug 10. Huge thanks to Rebellion Festival for having my band back last night. What a blast! Thanks especially to the top-notch stage crew, the bar staff and everyone who turned up and sang along. On stage I said it was Gonads’ last ever UK performance. Keep an eye on our blog in the coming days for the reason why. It might surprise you.
I’m chatting to Brian Conley, Doc Brown in the Back To The Future musical, in today’s Sunday Express Review & talking telly with Alan Tyler of the Rockingbirds. Plus Bushell on the Box asks: what’s the point of Channel 4?
Aug 9. I was asked to produce a definitive Top Ten of the greatest albums ever made. Which is of course ridiculous. I guarantee that you won’t agree with it. I also guarantee that I won’t agree with it by tomorrow. There will be choices you heartily endorse and omissions that make you foam at the mouth in rage. This isn’t a list of my favourites. If it were, The Clash’s debut LP and Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced? would be in it (along with Marty Robbins’s Gunfighter Ballads for nostalgic reasons; my dad loved it). Have a butcher’s here. In an alternative universe, another, perhaps wiser me, has drawn a Top Ten that doesn’t exclude Hendrix, The Beatles, Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, the Ramones, Joni Mitchell, and Earth Wind & Fire. I hope he gets less abuse than I will.
Aug 8. New albums from London soul legend Kenny Thomas, The Royston Club & Devon Allman, plus a Stax live set & Richard Hawley’s anniversary reissue. All reviewed in the usual places and online.
Aug 5. RIP Cornwall’s own Terry Reid aka “Superlungs”, one of the greatest voices in rock.
Aug 4. Sad to hear we’ve lost James Whale, a terrific broadcaster and a thoroughly decent man. Despite our pretend spats in the 80s, I always got on with James. RIP mate. My condolences to his loved ones.
Aug 3. Fabulous Fleur East is our Sunday Express Review cover star for her powerful West End portrayal of the late great Tina Turner; plus I’m talking TV with The Yorkshire Vet’s Grace Olson & Bushell on the Box tackles Destination X. Here’s Fleur online.
Aug 1. Today’s album reviews: Elton John’s lost 1977 Rainbow show, & new releases from Luke Morley, Dennis Bovell, Renee Rapp, Gary Numan & Morgan Wade. All reviewed in today’s Express & Daily Mirror and online.
July 27. Today’s Sunday Express Review covers the rejigged 101 Dalmatians stage musical with Sydnie Christmas, Aston Merrygold & Jeff Brazier; I’m talking telly with heavy metal marine biologist Tom ‘The Blowfish’ Hird, plus Bushell On The Box tackles C4 soft porn, ITV’s 12-year-old Detective Inspector Karen Pirie and One Night In Southport…
here.
July 26. What kind of square-eyed lunatic would try and compile an all-time Top Ten list of great American shows? Um, me. Feel free to disagree...
July 25. Today's album reviews: new releases from the Alice Cooper Band, Paul Weller, Madonna, and rising star Jessie Murph, all in today’s Express, Mirror and online.
July 24. Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana are launching a new hard left party. Hmm. Sultana and Corbyn… Fruit & Nut?
What we really need is an English Revolutionary Party to wage war on statists, quangos, box-tickers, tax-hikers, middle class falsifiers of Marxism, and the rest of our clueless England-hating, prole-despising, virtue-signalling political “elite”. We’re not a Madame Guillotine people, sadly. But wouldn’t it be nice to see Mr Gallows dear old Mrs Gibbet back in action?
July 23. Written with sadness and affection, my memories of the great Ozzy Osbourne online here and in today’s Daily Express.
July 22. RIP Ozzy. Prince of Darkness. Sleep well John.
July 20. Great fun to chat with today’s Sunday Express Review cover stars – the reunited Alice Cooper Band - here, Plus I’m talking telly with my old pal Steve Blacknell, and Bushell On The Box takes a bite out of ITV’s lame shark show. Jaws meets Bores.
July 13. Midge Ure is today’s Sunday Express Review cover star, and I’m talking telly with model turned author Jo Wood. Plus Bushell On The Box tackles Meghan & Harry and the Live Aid miniseries. Read all abhart it…
July 12. Controversy corner: what are the all-time Top Ten British TV shows? Prepare to disagree... here.
A fine afternoon, starting at the Spice Of Life for the latest Vampyres Of Soho session. There were two turns: Jim Jones, of The Jim Jones Revue fame, who played a set of Velvet Underground numbers, and singer Georgia Crandon who really impressed. And then on to Jazz After Dark (where Amy Winehouse was discovered) in Greek Street – an intimate bar with a cool atmosphere. If we don’t support pubs and clubs, we’ll lose them.
July 11. Album reviews: the Kinks, Jethro Tull & Steve Hackett prove you can’t get mugged down memory lane, plus new releases from Gina Birch, Punchdrunk Saints & Etham in today’s Express and Mirror. The Saints were on top form at the 100 Club later. Seeing Dennis Stratton, ex-Iron Maiden, trading solos with Micky Geggus was wondrous.
July 10. Why is Starmer’s illegal immigration police ‘one in, one out’ poppycock being taken seriously? What he means is ‘one out, 1,000 in’ every bloody week (if Euro lawyers even allow that token gesture). How about none in, 150,000 bogus asylum seekers sent back – instant repatriation to their last safe haven? If they’ve reached France, they are no longer in danger of anything more dangerous than garlic poisoning, death-race drivers, and hostile Parisien street caricaturists. I’m not a politician. My views aren’t extreme (the libertarian end of social democracy, if you’re asking). But this is the worst government in living memory. Labour’s chief jobs are to strengthen the economy, strengthen our defences, and strengthen our borders. They are failing on all three counts, and many more besides. Starmer should get serious, or get lost. As Cromwell told once the rump parliament: “You have sat too long for any good you have been doing... in the name of God, go!”
July 6. West End gem Kerry Ellis is today’s Sunday Express Review cover star & I’m talking telly with author MJ Arlidge. Bushell On The Box returns next weekend.
June 29. Pop-soul star Jackie Jackson of the Jackson 5 is the Sunday Express Review cover star today, and I’m talking telly with Tony Mullings formerly of UB40.
June 22. Carol Harrison is today’s Sunday Express Review cover star, for her All Or Nothing musical, about Stevie Marriott & the Small Faces, and its spin-off experience show
June 20. Today’s goodies: a Rough Trade boxset, a deluxe Cockney Rebel re-release plus new albums from The Farm & Shez Raja only in the Express and the Mirror.
June 15. I’m chatting to 60s legend Cliff Bennett in today’s Sunday Express Review, and talking telly with Spear Of Destiny’s Kirk Brandon. Plus Bushell on the Box on The Gold
June 13. Albums! A mammoth Metallica box-set, the best of Blood Sweat & Tears plus new releases from Van Morrison & Cynthia Erivo, all reviewed in today’s Daily Express and Daily Mirror.
June 8. Comedian, actress & author Helen Lederer is today’s Sunday Express Review cover star, plugging her funny, revealing memoir & her new role in Fawlty Towers – The Play. Plus I’m talking telly with novelist Sarah Pinborough and Bushell on the Box tackles the licence fee.
June 6. Today’s album reviews: Pulp, The Doobie Brothers, Cypress Hill, Morgan Wallen and Little Simz. Online now.
June 1. The Zutons frontman Dave McCabe is today’s Sunday Express Review cover star, I’m talking telly with the Famous Five’s Marcus Harris, and Bushell On The Box tackles quirky crime dramas. Here’s Dave McCabe.
PLUS: what were the greatest gigs of all time? Prepare to disagree with my Top Ten…
May 31. Have I got news for Have I Got News For You: it’s not satire, it’s rarely funny, and it’s time to swing the axe.
May 30. Album reviews: a country music tribute to Springsteen, plus new releases from Miley Cyrus, Garbage, Dylan Scott and Conflict, all in today’s Daily Express and Daily Mirror and online here.
May 25. We’re back! COYR! A golden goal from centre-half Macaulay Gillesphey and his “wand of a left foot” (© Matty Godden).
I’m chatting to blues & folk legend Bonnie Raitt in today’s Sunday Express Review & talking telly with Ben Bailey Smith, plus Bushell on the Box ponders the decline of Dr Who. Here’s Bonnie!
I was feeling a bit Richard Littlejohn this morning so I’ve rewritten the opening of Fontaines D.C.’s Starburster (the Mobland theme) as Keir Starmer might deliver it if he were honest:
I’m a lawyer. I’m a liar. I’m PM…Yeah I’m gonna beat crime, by letting rapists free/When murderers walk early, that’s down to me, see/Punch a voter and you stay free, as long as you’re a Labour MP/But post a tweet we don’t like, stay banged up, lose years of life
Sell out voters, rejoin EU, reward for me, fuck-all for you/Yeah I’m gonna boost growth, by pumping up taxes/And let scroungers sit, on their wobbly fat asses/I’ve got answers for all you say, ‘I see no boats’, I look the other way
I'm gon' hit your business, with rising taxation/I'm gon' hit your business, put it in traction (It may feel bad)/I’m gon’ bend the knee, sweet genuflection/An’ pay Mauritius billions, face no election (Four more years, rad!)
May 23. The Sun gets it wrong today. Ncuti Gatwa hasn’t been sacked, he was always going after two series. But here are my thoughts on why time is may be up for the BBC’s Time Lord.
Today’s album reviews: classic blues from the late Gary Moore, vintage Quo & new releases from Skunk Anansie, Robin Trower, Cardinal Black & Yogi-G & The Family Tree. All in today’s Express and Mirror, with an expanded version online.
May 18. I’m chatting to musical theatre star and ITV’s former golden boy Darren Day about his rise, fall and rise again in today’s Sunday Express Review, and talking telly with Dave Fenton from The Vapors. Plus Bushell on the Box tackles the BAFTAs. Here’s Darren online.
May 16. New albums for Pete Doherty, Billy Nomates, The Amazons & The Kooks all reviewed in today’s @Daily_Express & @DailyMirror and online here.
May 15. Some thoughts on the Bafta TV awards.
May 4. I’m chatting to TV ventriloquist Paul Zerdin in today’s Sunday Express Review, and talking telly with Limahl. Plus my Bushell On The Box verdict on The Essex Millionaire Murders and more.
Here’s Paul Zerdin online.
May 3. Bushell On The Box on The Essex Millionaire Murders, grooming gangs, The Honesty Box and more.
May 2. Kneecap? A bunch of middle-class phonies.
Today’s album reviews: Billy Idol, Simple Minds, Francis Rossi, Kate Rusby and Pink Floyd. Only in the Express and Mirror, and online here.
April 18. Around 1,000 bike-riding forces veterans, organised by Rolling Thunder, descended on Parliament on today to protest against Labour’s bid to end legal immunity for soldiers involved in the Northern Irish Troubles. (Did BBC News report it? I didn’t see it covered). The 2023 Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act stopped prosecutions of British veterans, although not in time to end the persecution of Dennis Hutchings, a former member of the Life Guards who died in 2021 while on trial for the fourth time over an alleged 1974 shooting. Dennis, who was 80 and in ill-health on dialysis, was arrested by four armed officers and taken to Northern Ireland where he was interrogated twenty-six times in two days and put on trial again – despite there being no new evidence. The Justice Department of Northern Ireland clearly intended to keep reviving the case until they got the “right” result for Sinn Fein. Starmer’s useless government want to remove the legal barrier to more witch hunts, and allow more of these clearly malicious prosecutions. Trials for terrorists ended with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, but is seems the elite has decided they will never end for the British soldiers, who, lest we forget, were sent into Northern Ireland by Harold Wilson’s Labour government to protect the civilian population from sectarian violence. In today’s topsy-turvy world, anyone who fought against terrorists is portrayed as an aggressor, while the terrorists get off scot-free and their supporters rub salt in the wounds. Don’t forget Starmer’s government also plan to reverse two sections of the Act that blocked compensation claims from up to 400 IRA “suspects” detained in the 1970s, so the likes of Gerry Adams will be able to claim compensation. Not only are we not prosecuting bombers, gunman and racketeers, we’ll be giving them taxpayer-funded compo. It’s not just an insult, it’s an absolute betrayal. Rolling Thunder intend to hold another protest in London in July. We should show up to cheer them on. Immunity to prosecutions for all is the only fair way out of this mess.
Who would join up today? You don’t need Mystic Meg to realise that any young soldiers Starmer sends to serve as peace-keepers in Ukraine in the coming months risk being hounded by loathsome leftist lawyers and pompous civil servants for decades to come.
April 17. Finally! My new Harry Tyler book, the fifth in the series, is finished and is currently being proofread. If all goes to plan, it should be launched early this summer. (If you can’t wait that long, my latest short story is published in John King’s latest Verbal fanzine, issue 11).
April 16. Thanks to everyone who came to my one-man show, Garry Bushell: A Work In Progress, last night. Especially tech wiz Tony Durrant. I had a blast. Glad we raised some money for Bexley Deaf Centre too.
April 14. Last night’s The Cancellation Of Benny Hill on Channel 5 was more balanced than I expected. The ‘thought-crimes’ contained in Benny’s humour were common to most comedy of the time, even Python – ‘guilty’ of sexism (Carol Cleveland), racism (blackface, accent humour), homophobia (The Bruces sketch, ‘no pooftas’ and ‘poofy judges’). I remember watching Dave Allen at an anti-nazi league event at Wembley Conference Centre in the 70s and cringing as the great man was heckled by the early exponents of the ‘You can’t say that brigade’ for imagined slights on women and gays. Oddly only Benny’s reputation was tarnished. He was working class you see. No Oxbridge chums to defend him.
April 13. I’m chatting to Stewart Copeland of The Police in today’s Sunday Express Review, and talking telly with Katie Melua. Plus Bushell On The Box takes on Celebrity Big Brother.
Here’s Stewart Copeland online.
April 12. Happy 70th, Neville Staple. I’m only a month behind you.
Celebrity Big Brother shows that ITV hate their natural audience …
April 11. Today’s album reviews: The Small Faces remembered plus new releases from Dave Stewart, Somebody’s Child & The Godfathers. Only in the Express and Mirror.
April 6. I’m chatting to Lightning Seeds star Ian Broudie and talking telly with the great Milton Jones in today’s Sunday Express Review. Plus Bushell On The Box on David Blaine, BGT, The White Lotus & more.
April 5. Bushell on Britain's Got Imported Talent & more, in today’s Sunday Express Review and online.
April 4. Today's album reviews: a belter from Elton John & Brandi Carlile, plus new releases from Mumford & Sons, Chris Pope & The Chords UK and Smith/Kotzen.
March 30. Lorraine McIntosh of Deacon Blue is today’s Sunday Express Review cover star; I’m talking telly with Mick Foster of Foster & Allen, plus Bushell On The Box on This City Is Ours, Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness, and more.
March 29. Bushell On The Box looks at two very different sides of Liverpool – This City Is Ours and Ken Dodd: A Legacy of Happiness, and much more. All here.
March 28. This week’s albums: a belter from The Darkness, plus new releases from Buster Shuffle, Bryan Ferry & Amelia Barratt, and Ebba Asman, only in today’s Daily Express & Daily Mirror. And online.
March 22. A pleasure to be invited back to the Rebellion fest literary stage in August. See you at the bar.
Bushell On The Box on Netflix’s Adolescence and the decline of male role models, ITV’s risible crime drama Protection, Amazon’s Last Man Laughing, Bradley Walsh in Egypt and more. Online now.
March 21. Today’s albums: Deacon Blue, Jimmy Page & the Black Crowes, Courting and a Krautrock comp – all reviewed in today’s Express and Mirror. Online here.
March 16. I’m chatting to soul legend Smokey Robinson in today’s Sunday Express Review, talking telly with Billy Billingham and calling stale, mate on the BBC’s diabolical attempt to dumb down chess.
March 15. Bushell On The Box on televised chess, Sue Perkins, The White Lotus, Portillo on Portugal and more - here.
March 14. Jason Isbell’s latest solo album rang my chimes in today’s album reviews, plus thoughts on Lady Gaga, Envy Of None and a fine box-set devoted to 60s Mods The Creation. All in today’s Express and Mirror, and online.
March 10. Here are some extracts from recent interviews...
Question. Is Bushell On The Box over? Answer. Definitely not. The column has been running in the Sunday Express since January. I stopped filming the TV mini-episodes for Ustreme last summer but I have been in talks with a production company about developing ideas. I won’t say any more about it because I don’t want to jinx it. It’s a very difficult world for programme-makers.
Q. Will the next Harry Tyler: The Face novel be the last? A. I hope not. I’m really pleased with the new book which now at the editing stage, and Harry will definitely return for a one-off short story next year. After that I have ideas for three more Harry novels, two of them pretty well fleshed-out, plus the second volumes of Hellbent and All Or Nothing.
Q. I read that you are winding the Gonads back after September this year, is that true? A. I’m pressing pause for a bit while I work on new ideas. I’m writing with my talented friend Carrie Griffiths at the moment for a special project. But the Gonads aren’t over. I’m rethinking the band, refreshing things and re-affirming what we’re about.
Q. Can I still get tickets for your one-man show in April show? A. No, the tickets ran out like a greased pig. If I enjoy the night, I’ll do more.
Q. Will you bring back your Rancid Sounds radio show any time soon? A. If I had more free time, definitely. It’s a tough time for young bands. It’s never been easier to get your music out there but in reality, it’s also never been harder to get it heard.
Q. How would you define your politics? A. Still cynical. Ideally, we need a revolutionary conservative movement. Revolutionary because it will need to overthrow the dead wood, stale thinking, bureaucracy and waste at the heart of the current system, conservative because it needs to conserve the best elements of our traditional freedoms, not least freedom of speech.
March 9. I’m chatting to bolt-cutter turned world-conquering singing sensation, Russell Watson in today’s Sunday Express Review, and talking telly with comedy writer turned author James Alistair Henry. Plus Bushell on the Box on The Brits, The Oscars and Meghan’s new life-style show. Here’s Russell.
March 8. Online new, the latest Bushell On The Box: The Brits, The Oscars and Meghan’s new life-style show, examined with all the delicate finesse of a bucking bronco let loose in A&E…. here.
March 7. This week’s albums: an underwhelming Oasis reissue plus new releases from Jethro Tull & Bradley Simpson, a Bowie re-release & a career-spanning PP Arnold box-set all reviewed in today’s Express and Mirror, and online here.
March 6. RIP Brian James, the guitarist with the Damned and Lords Of The New Church. At the start, Brian WAS the Damned – he wrote almost all of their incendiary debut album, including New Rose, the first and the greatest punk single. Before that he was in the pleasantly named London SS with Mick Jones. (Mick Jones, the guitarist with the Clash, that is. Not Mick Jones, the guitarist with Foreigner.) James, real name Brian Robertson, was born in Hammersmith, west London. He had turned 70 last month.
Feb 23. Controversy alert: I’m chatting to punk icon John Lydon in today’s Sunday Express Review and he has not mellowed, plus I’m talking telly with Emmerdale’s Natalie Ann Jamieson. Here’s Johnny.
Meanwhile Bushell On The Box aims its sonic screwdriver at the heart of the BBC’s Dr Who crisis and asks why TV has a compulsive desire to force its peculiar Hampstead values down our throats. Online here.
Feb 21. This week’s album reviews: new releases from Sam Fender, The Stylistics, The Lumineers & Mitch Ryder. All reviewed in the usual places and online now.
Feb 18. So sorry to hear we’ve lost Rick Buckler, not only a cracking drummer but also the most personable and down-to-earth member of The Jam, one of the greatest bands to come out of the great punk rock explosion.
Feb 15. A few people have been asking about the new Harry Tyler novel. Well, this afternoon I finished it. I’ll read it through one more time to double check every element and then send it on to my publisher, crime noir specialists Caffeine Nights. Hopefully it will now be out in the Autumn.
And if you can’t wait until then, I also have a brand-new short story called Pretty In Pinky published in John King’s latest Verbal fanzine, issue 11. I hope to publish a complete short story collection in 2026. If you haven’t seen Verbal, it’s a small-press publication that John edits and publishes which is dedicated to new fiction from outside the mainstream. Each issue includes short stories and a focus interview with a contemporary author, plus occasional artwork, lyrics and non-fiction. You can buy issue 11 (and all the back issues) direct from the King himself here.
Feb 14. BBC soap EastEnders is celebrating its 40th anniversary week from Monday. Who would want to rain on its parade? Me for starters. It’s a melodramatic mess, awash with lazy plots, iffy politics, and crazy twists. Read all about it here.
Today’s album releases: Secret Affair, Kim Wilde, Candi Staton and Rizzle Kicks, all reviewed in today's
Daily Express and Daily Mirror, and online here.
Feb 9. Big-hearted jazz icon Gregory Porter tells me about his message of optimism and love ahead of his UK tour and I’m talking telly with ever-sparkling West End veteran Patti Boulaye, now in Mary Poppins the musical. Plus Bushell On The Box gets stuck into Channel 4’s asinine immigration mini-series – all in today’s Sunday Express Review & online here.
Feb 8. Bushell On The Box gets stuck into Channel 4’s bogus immigration ‘documentary’ series, plus reviews of Mussolini: Son Of The Century, Celebrity Bear Hunt, Amandaland and more - here.
Feb 7. Today’s album releases: the Manic Street Preachers are back, fired by rage, plus new releases from Gary Kemp, Cymande and the legend that is Andy Fairweather Low – all reviewed in today’s Express and Mirror, and online here.
Jan 27. A quick update. I have an April date and a venue confirmed for my one-man try-out show, now renamed Garry Bushell: Work In Progress. If you’ve already expressed interest, you will receive an email about it this week.
Here are five modern crime noir novels I really loved reading.
The new Harry Tyler saga is on course to be published later this year. New authors can check out shepherd.com here.
And here’s my chat with comedian Tom Allen, back on telly this Thursday with The Apprentice after-show, You're Fired.
Jan 26. I’m chatting to Bromley’s best-dressed comedian Tom Allen in today’s Sunday Express Review ahead of The Apprentice’s return, talking telly with actress Wendi Peters, and reviewing Traitors, Saturday night TV and more in Bushell on the Box, now in its 38th year.
Jan 25. Tomorrow's TV column a day early.
Jan 24. Today’s album reviews: The boys are back toned down! Phil Lynott's earliest songs get an acoustic makeover, plus new releases from Larkin Poe & Pastel, and Steve Hackett's spell-binding live set, all reviewed in today’s Express and Daily Mirror. Available online here.
How much does it cost to keep a despicable multiple child killer behind bars for the next 52 years? You won’t get much change out of £3million at today’s prices. You can buy a length of strong rope for £1.70 a metre. Compare and contrast.
Jan 19. Thanks for your response to my April one-man try-out show. I might have to find a bigger venue… I’m looking forward to seeing you on the night. I guarantee it’ll be a performance you won’t forget… to regret.
Toto’s Steve Lukather is today’s Sunday Express Review cover star and I’m talking telly with folk rock pioneer Ashley Hutchings (Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span etc). Plus Bushell on the Box considers drugs, thugs and TV duds as the contest between Netflix and the Beeb heats up.
Jan 18. My verdict on the week’s TV is here.
Jan 17. Today’s album reviews: a classic comp from The Verve, new releases from David Gray & Franz Ferdinand, and a slice of 60s history from Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity, all in the Express and Daily Mirror and online after I’ve had a pint.
Jan 12. Manfred Mann star & Manfreds frontman Paul Jones is today’s Sunday Express Review cover star, interviewed by Margaret Hussey; I’m talking telly with Denise Marsa, and SAS Rogue Heroes & Netflix’s Jerry Springer doc come under fire in Bushell On The Box. Read all abhart Paul Jones here.
Jan 10. I will be doing a pre-launch run-through of my one-man Bushell: Out Of His Box show sometime in April. It will be a small word-of-mouth event in southeast London and will not be advertised. Expect rants, revelations, gags, caustic satire, ill-advised confessions and very true stories. If you would like to be in on it, email management@bushell.biz and we’ll be in touch once the details have been thrashed out. Tickets will be limited, and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Cheers.
This week’s albums – Ringo goes country, plus new releases from the Lambrini Girls and Skinner, and a 70s ‘progressive pop’ comp, all reviewed in today’s Daily Express and Daily Mirror. Or take your chances with the pestilent plague of pop-up ads here.
Why I’m in a paddy about SAS Rogue Heroes, plus Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action; The Traitors and more reviewed online here.
Jan 6. A rather shambolic, hung-over chat with Shaun Mcclure covering a lot of ground – punk, Oi, papers, politics, 2-Tone, telly, the Clash, the popular press, Ozzy, UFO, my forgotten link to John Lennon and more - here…
Jan 5. I’m chatting to queen of ska Pauline Black of The Selecter in today’s Sunday Express Review, and talking telly with actor Jason Barnett. Plus there’s an edited version of my verdict on the glorious highs and unbearable lows of TV in 2024. Here’s Paulin…
Jan 3. Ring out the old, ring in a new album deluge…my guide to what big name releases to expect this year, is in today’s Express and Mirror, along with reviews of albums from X-Ray Spex, the Skabratts and Jeff Christie. All online here.
Jan 2. The Bushell On The Box verdict on the best and worst of 2024 telly, online here.
Jan 1 2025. A belated RIP to Johnnie Walker, one of the great pioneers of pirate radio who sadly died yesterday aged 79. I first met him in LA with the Mo-dettes in 1981 and had the pleasure of guesting on his Sounds Of The 70s Radio 2 show in 2017. (I interviewed him for the Express a few years later but can’t find that article). He was a warm but stubborn man with a healthy rebellious streak and a genuine love of the acts he helped break here, including the immortal Otis Redding. My condolences to Johnnie’s widow Tiggy and his family.