No excuses can hide the criminal actions of a Nazi fellow-traveller in this admirably objective documentary, suggests MARTIN HALL
Jim Thumb
CHRIS SEARLE speaks to Glaswegian guitarist JIM MULLEN
Jim Mullen
PAUL DONOVAN relishes a fascinating exploration of the leading lights of the Labour right in the 1970s
BEN LUNN alerts us to the creeping return of philanthropy and private patronage, and suggests alternative paths to explore
A novel by Argentinian Jorge Consiglio, a personal dictionary by Uruguayan Ida Vitale, and poetry by Mexican Homero Aridjis
MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
New releases reviewed by IAN SINCLAIR
STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
HE’s one of the truly great guitarists of a century of jazz, with a sound all of his own rooted in his love of the songs of Robert Burns. Jim Mullen tells me that he “grew up with his songs and their soulful timelessness.” Just listen to his beautiful millennial album Burns and you’ll hear what he means.
He was born in Glasgow in 1945: “It was the post-war baby boom. My dad was a carpenter, my mum worked in a department store. She would sing along to Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra on the radio, and when I began playing I half-knew these songs. As a toddler she would offer to read me a story at night, but I would ask her to sing me a song instead.
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