Henry Yates

How Europe’s John Norum learned to love The Final Countdown – and the guitar he used to track its iconic solo

By Henry Yates published 2 March 26

The Final Countdown is one of rock's evergreen anthems, but Norum admits he thought it was “dreadful” at first

He wrote chart-topping hits and a Christmas classic, but all he wanted to do was play slide blues – remembering Chris Rea

By Henry Yates published 2 March 26

A slide master with a voice like life, the English bluesman hated the spotlight – and deserves notice beyond his perennial Christmas hit

From sleeping in tents to Woodstock, rock ’n’ roll's ‘Forrest Gump’ Leo Lyons shares the story of Ten Years After

By Henry Yates published 16 February 26

The Ten Years After bassist survived Hamburg’s Star-Club, sparked the blues boom, achieved immortality at Woodstock – and is still going strong at 82. “Music,” he says, “it’s a drug…”

Inside the (literally) blistering sound of British alt-rock’s cultest heroes, The Wedding Present

By Henry Yates published 10 February 26

With a refreshed lineup, a new EP, and a boxset documenting the band's storied career, The Wedding Present founder/frontman Gedge and new guitarist Wood tell us why they're not afraid to bleed for their art – but they're not superglueing the wounds together

“Steve was on the session when history was made”: Why Steve Cropper was one of guitar’s most humble heroes

By Henry Yates published 6 February 26

The departed soul man was the Stax band’s MVP, writing and driving the R&B classics that ruled the ’60s

How Boss reimagined the wildest effect on your pedalboard

By Henry Yates published 29 January 26

Boss's Matt Knight gives us the lowdown on the XS-1 and XS-100 Poly Shifter series, the pitch-shifting pedals that put the DigiTech Whammy on notice

Meet the mystery guitarist rewriting a new future for prog – with a little help from superstar players Greg Howe and Mohini Dey

By Henry Yates published 28 January 26

DarWin guitarist Greg Howe and bassist Mohini Dey, plus the supergroup’s mysterious namesake, tell us about new album, Distorted Mirror, and how it is reinventing the concept album

“Sometimes we were recording a song and the power shut down because of the wind. Since we do everything live, we had to start over”: Assouf rockers Imarhan on how a Peavey amp, the weather and Stevie Ray Vaughan tapes were the making of their new album

By Henry Yates published 19 January 26

Algerian desert rockers’ new release, Essam, fuses electronica with fuzzbox vibes, political flashpoints and ancient poetry. Call it desert blues if you like – but they don’t

“I put it on a stand at a guitar show, with no strategy. And it changed everything”: How relic’ing conquered the guitar world

By Henry Yates published 1 January 26

The not-so-gentle art of relic’ing has enjoyed a renaissance since its maligned roots in the mid-’90s. We asked scene godfather and Gibson Custom Shop guru Tom Murphy how the tide turned

A-list guitar auctions are now a firm fixture, and the sums involved are eye-watering. But who is driving the boom – and is it sustainable?

By Henry Yates published 26 December 25

The amount of money changing hands for artist-owned guitars at auction is eye-watering. Amelia Walker of Christie's London explains what sells and who's buying – and whether it will last

The life and wild times of Danny Thompson, the legend of upright bass who “brought greatness to everything he played”

By Henry Yates published 20 December 25

The fabled upright acoustic bassist leaves us with a thousand tales of misadventure and an extraordinary body of music that weaves through the rock ’n’ roll era

Stephen Dale Petit on break-ups, cancer, Eric Clapton and why the original “blues hooligan” is no gun-for-hire

By Henry Yates published 20 November 25

Grave illness and a broken heart have tested Stephen Dale Petit – but the bluesman tells us that completing his Clapton-bolstered masterpiece, Be The Love, is all that matters

Eurythmics legend Dave Stewart on gigging folk clubs underage, why Sweet Dreams is a blues song and drinking sake with Dylan

By Henry Yates published 27 August 25

The Eurythmics legend returns with an album of Bob Dylan covers, a man who he remarkably befriended after a chance phone call

Ozzy Osbourne couldn’t play guitar. Yet he changed the guitar world by introducing some of its greatest heroes

By Henry Yates published 26 August 25

The late heavy-metal icon did not, could not, play guitar. Yet his contribution to the scene – whether giving a platform to fledgling gunslingers or igniting their talents – was inestimable

Chris Turpin on teaming up with Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka for Mirador and the unplanned magic of rock

By Henry Yates published 12 August 25

The Ida Mae guitarist isn't even sure what to call Mirador, but with some tone mojo from cranked half-stacks and Jake Kiszka’s raw, effervescent energy, they've got something good going on

Remembering Rick Derringer: the maverick who brought the fire to Johnny Winter’s band

By Henry Yates published 11 August 25

The Ohio guitarist was one of rock’s most adaptable talents and had the production skills to go with his playing

Mark Knopfler on 40 years of Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms – the guitars, the riffs… the pressure of learning to play in time

By Henry Yates published 5 August 25

From his lucky ’83 Les Paul and Fleetwood Mac-inspired soloing to “getting away with murder” at the sessions, the Dire Straits legend opens up in his most revealing interview in years