It has, astonishingly, been 334 issues since Liam Gallagher first loped into the pages of MOJO. Jim Irvin, still on our team, spots him fronting Oasis at London’s Marquee club in the summer of 1994, “Impassively cocksure, quietly convinced of [his] roughly distilled essence of Everything Rock Delights In.” “Our kid’s not got the faintest idea what’s going on,” Noel Gallagher tells Jim later. “He’ll be one of the greats because he doesn’t know.”
Twenty-eight years later, Liam Gallagher is nudging 50, probably in need of double hip surgery, still to a preternatural degree untroubled by self-analysis, and back on the cover of the brand new MOJO 343, on sale now.
It’s disingenuous to suggest that Everything Rock Delights In is purely instinctual; some of the great musical thinkers assembled in this issue of MOJO might like a word with you about that. There’s Sting, explaining how “ The Police were outsiders from the start”. Or post-punk’s neglected pioneers, Magazine, and their self-appointed “benign dictator” Howard Devoto. Cocteau Twin Elizabeth Fraser, launching her new band Sun’s Signature with an exclusive MOJO chat, could hardly be accused of rushing things.
Elsewhere, we’re extremely proud to have teamed up with the Grateful Dead this month to produce an extremely collectable CD of exceptional Dead tracks, complementing our big piece celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band’s storied “Europe ’72” jaunt. Plus we preview the Sex Pistols on TV, and Nick Cave on film, check in with Sharon Van Etten, Scritti Politti and the last Four Top, Duke Fakir . Hear of Ava Cherry’s time in and out of the Court Of Bowie . And pull together exceptional long reads on Mighty Baby and Labelle. “We didn’t know what ‘Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir’ meant,” Patti Labelle tells us.
Meanwhile, there are extraordinary times spent with Liam Gallagher, as he readies himself for a return to peak Oasis’ Knebworth stamping ground. At one point in Ted Kessler’s wise and hilarious interview this month, Gallagher briefly contemplates how, in June, he will play to 160,000 people over two nights back at Knebworth. “Blows my mind,” he admits. “Not that I’ve thought about it yet… Well, I have, maybe, a little, on the sly. Don’t tell anyone.”
The Fat Angel Sings 