Dominic Utton
U.K. Editor and Chief WriterDominic Utton is Q's U.K. Editor and Chief Writer and a journalist of over 25 years’ experience. He started out writing about bands in Manchester for the independent magazine Flux, which he co-founded… and is somehow still writing about the same Manchester bands nearly three decades later. Along the way he’s freelanced for and held staff positions on numerous magazines and newspapers, authored two novels and a bunch of non-fiction books, and written podcasts and TV shows in the U.K. and U.S. He also DJs regular Indie Disco nights and plays in a new wave/Britpop covers band. Liam Gallagher once called him “Mr. Fabulous”. It was in public, too. There were witnesses and everything.
More From Dominic Utton
On This Day In Music… May 8, 1965: Bob Dylan Films the 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' Video
Dylan’s revolutionary two-minute film was a startling statement of intent.Q Breakers: Irish Rockers Dea Matrona Fuse Classic Riffs With Woozy Country-Tinged Harmonies
'You feel like you have to do your bit because you're just surrounded by so much talent in Ireland right now.'On This Day In Music… May 7, 1966: The Mamas & the Papas Score Their Only No. 1 Hit With a Song Written in 20 Minutes
'Monday, Monday', John Phillips' 'dumb f---in' song about a day of the week' wasn't even especially liked by the band themselves.On This Day In Music… May 6, 1978: 'Saturday Night Fever' Soundtrack Begins an 18-Week Chart-Topping Run
The songs that would come to define the Bee Gees' disco sound were written in a week after they 'hadn’t even looked at' the script.On This Day In Music… May 5, 1973: 'Aladdin Sane' Gives David Bowie His First No. 1 Album
Bowie's ravaged masterpiece represented the culmination – and eventual destruction – of Ziggy Stardust.On This Day In Music… May 3, 2020: Dave Greenfield, Innovative Keyboardist for The Stranglers, Dies
Greenfield's musical sophistication and swirling, dramatic arpeggios set The Stranglers apart from their contemporaries.On This Day In Music… May 2, 1989: The Stone Roses Release Their Debut Album and the World Becomes a Better Place
'The Stone Roses' was a blast of sunshine – and the start of a revolution.On This Day In Music… May 1, 1956: Johnny Cash Releases 'I Walk the Line'
'I Walk the Line' was written about marital fidelity, but would become a metaphor for Cash’s whole life.Q's U.K. Festivals Guide 2024 – Your Essential Summer Round Up
Who to see, when to see them, how to see them, where to see them. And no sensible stuff about remembering sunscreen or not drinking too much. (Always wear sunscreen, kids.)On This Day In Music… April 30, 1966: 'Aftermath', the First Rolling Stones LP Written Entirely by Jagger/Richards, Hits No. 1
The album was Mick 'n' Keef's creation - but was elevated to greatness by Brian Jones.Irish Legends the Wolfe Tones Played a Secret Gig in North London - and Q Was There: Watch the Video Here
‘We always sang Irish songs. When the Troubles started they were called rebel songs. They’re Irish songs.’On This Day In Music… April 29, 1977: The Jam Release Debut Single, 'In the City'
'In the City' began a run of 18 hit singles for The Jam – and heralded the arrival of a brash new talent.On This Day In Music… April 28, 2003: Apple Launches the iTunes Store, Revolutionizing the Music Industry
Within seven years, the iTunes Store would be the largest music vendor in the world. Within 20 it would be all-but forgotten.On This Day In Music… April 26, 1966: 'You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me' Gives Dusty Springfield Her Only No. 1 Single
Dusty elevated a song recorded in a stairwell and written in the back of a taxi into three minutes of pure magic.On This Day In Music… April 25, 1994: Blur Release 'Parklife', Effectively Launching Britpop
'The album was the convergence of a lot of influences,' said Graham Coxon. 'Alex wanted to be in Duran Duran, I wanted to be in Wire, and Damon wanted to be… I don't know.'On This Day In Music… April 24, 1995: Oasis Release 'Some Might Say', Sparking the 'Battle of Britpop'
Alan McGee later remembered: 'Damon left the party thinking "F--k you, Liam, I'm going to teach you a lesson".'Songs of '74: 'No Woman, No Cry', Bob Marley's Sublime Celebration of the Human Spirit
'No Woman, No Cry' would be Marley's breakthrough hit – and also have a powerful impact long beyond his lifetime.On This Day In Music… April 23, 1978: Sid Vicious Films 'My Way' for 'The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'
Vicious's snarling take on Sinatra's classic would also inspire his covers of Eddie Cochran's 'Something Else' and 'C'mon Everybody'.Simon Armitage on 'Fear of Music' by Talking Heads: 'You Wanted to Wear a Badge With the Logo of a Band That Nobody Else Had Heard of'
The Poet Laureate's world was opened up by Talking Heads' third release: 'It pointed the way to me for a different way of being.'On This Day In Music… April 22, 1978: The Blues Brothers Make Their Television Debut
What began as a comedy act would open the eyes and ears of a young, predominately white audience to some of music's all-time greats.On This Day In Music… April 19, 1980: R.E.M. Play Their First Gig as R.E.M., Show is Stopped by the Cops
Less than a year later, the band would record debut single 'Radio Free Europe'.'Most of the Greatest Music is Shot Through With Doom or Potential Catastrophe' – Charles Hazlewood on 'Death Songbook,' His Darkly Beautiful Collaboration With Brett Anderson
'People who are into rock 'n' roll tend to think, well, classical music's not for me because it's too clever. But who's to say that rock music isn't just as clever? It's just clever in different ways. It's just as sophisticated, but in different ways.'Taylor Swift's New Album Is Actually Two Albums: Singer Follows Release of 'The Tortured Poets Department' With an Additional 15 Songs
'It's a 2am surprise,' Swift announced. 'And now the story isn’t mine anymore… it's all yours.'On This Day in Music… April 18, 1964: Mark Berry, aka Bez is Born... Twenty-Five Years Later, He Became Pop Music's Most Unlikely Star
The story of how Bez came to be a part of the Happy Mondays is as ridiculous, as funny, and as endearingly shambolic as the man himself.On This Day In Music… April 17, 1960: Eddie Cochran, Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer and Teen Idol, Dies
The rockabilly legend captured teenage joy and frustration like no other – and was an influence on everyone from the Beatles to Sid Vicious.On This Day in Music… April 16, 1994: Prince Scores Only U.K. No. 1 of His Career While Not Actually Called Prince
'The Most Beautiful Girl in the World' was credited to an unpronounceable squiggle.Time for Heroes: Pete Doherty and Carl Barât on Love, Arcadian Dreams, 'Putting Everything on the Line' and the Glorious Resurrection of the Libertines
'We started off in communities of impossible dreamers, getting into scrapes together. And it's like being back at the beginning. I've been desperate to play these new songs. I've got skin in this game, baby.'On This Day In Music… April 15, 2001: Joey Ramone, Punk Icon and Inspiration to Generations, Dies
'He was a perfect instrument of those songs and that speed and that energy. He never screamed, never waved his arms around. He stood in one place and delivered.'On This Day In Music… April 14, 1978: Joy Division Play the Stiff Test/Chiswick Challenge; Twenty Seconds Into Their Set, Tony Wilson Decides to Create Factory Records to Sign Them
Earlier in the evening, singer Ian Curtis had threatened Wilson for failing to feature the band on his TV show.On This Day In Music… April 12, 1954: Bill Haley & His Comets Record 'Rock Around the Clock' - Riots Ensue
The song would take a year to break into the mainstream – but once it did, it changed the world.On This Day In Music… April 11, 1994: Oasis Release Debut Single, 'Supersonic'
Noel Gallagher wrote the song in half an hour – within two years the Mancunian rockers would be the biggest band in the world.On This Day In Music… April 10, 1970: Paul McCartney Quits the Beatles
'The event is so momentous,' reported CBS News, 'that historians may, one day, view it as a landmark in the decline of the British Empire.'The Record That Changed My Life: Bob Harris on the 'Absolutely Unique' Joy of Love's 'Forever Changes'
'And when I got to his flat, Marc Bolan was there, sitting cross-legged on a Persian rug on the floor, strumming his guitar and singing "By the Light of a Magical Moon."'On This Day In Music… April 9, 1983: 'Let's Dance' Becomes David Bowie's First Song to Hit No. 1 on Both Sides of the Atlantic
The production genius of Nile Rodgers would help create a genre-fluid pop masterpiece – and make Bowie a mass appeal pop giant.On This Day In Music… April 6, 1998: Tammy Wynette, Country Legend and Unlikely KLF Collaborator, Dies
'They called me up in Tennessee, they said, Tammy, stand by the JAMs…''No One Knew That This Storm Was About to Blow Up': Steve Lamacq on 'Nevermind' and the 'Massive Emotional Impact' of Kurt Cobain's Death
'That album was never off some people's turntables, it became the go-to record for any emotional hurdle they were trying to get over.'On This Day In Music… April 4, 1913: Muddy Waters, Father of Chicago Blues, Inspiration for a Generation, is Born
The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and others all owed a huge debt to the Hoochie Coochie Man.On This Day In Music… April 3, 2011: Adele's '21' Breaks Madonna's U.K. Chart Record
'Adele took her anguish and heartbreak and turned it into unprecedented success.'On This Day in Music… April 2, 1928: Serge Gainsbourg, Artist, Hedonist, Genius, Is Born
'There's a trilogy in my life,' Gainsbourg once said. 'An equilateral triangle, shall we say, of Gitanes, alcoholism and girls.'Songs of '74: ABBA's 'Waterloo' Brings Pop Perfection to an Unsuspecting World
As Record World drolly noted at the time: 'Napoleon's downfall shall be this act's victory.'On This Day In Music… March 31, 1949: The 45rpm Single is Launched
The new format would play a huge part in the success of rock 'n' roll.On This Day In Music… March 29, 1980: Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' Breaks U.S. Chart Records
Pink Floyd's extended meditation on mortality, greed and mental illness would go on to spend the equivalent of 19 years in the Billboard 200 and become the fourth best-selling LP of all time.'You're in a Car That's Going Faster and Faster Towards a Wall and it's Really Exciting… Until You Hit the Wall' – Ride's Mark Gardener on Shoegaze, Second Comings, and 'Hitting Heights We've Never Hit Before'
'I've always liked the idea that a band could stand there and just make a noise and that some people will leave the room and other people stay and be like, wow, that's amazing!'On This Day In Music… March 28, 1981: Blondie's 'Rapture' Becomes the First Rap Song to Top the U.S. Charts
Sure, the lyrics were dodgy at best, but the significance of the track was immense.On This Day In Music… March 27, 2000: Ian Dury, Greatest Lyricist of his Generation, Dies
Dury's lyrics were by turns funny, tender, rude, cutting, romantic… and always whip-smart.On This Day In Music… March 24, 1990: Sinéad O'Connor Delivers a Masterpiece
'I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got' reached No. 1 on this day, but it would be the album's second single that sealed Sinéad's legacy.A Best Friend's Betrayal, the Loss of an Unborn Child, or the Pain of a Doomed Love Affair? The Tragic Story Behind Stevie Nicks' 1979 Masterpiece, 'Sara'
From an impossibly tangled personal life, Nicks found inspiration for a song that still resonates 45 years later.On This Day In Music… March 23, 1991: 'Out of Time' Gives R.E.M. First U.K. No. 1
The album was the band's most successful to that point – but also included what is for many fans R.E.M.'s most hated songOn This Day In Music… March 22, 1965: Bob Dylan Releases 'Bringing It All Back Home'
Dylan’s fifth album marked the moment he went electric – and was also his big commercial breakthrough.Poet Laureate Simon Armitage tells Q About his Music Project 'Blossomise' for World Poetry Day
Armitage’s band LYR have released a five-track music-and-poetry EP as part of a project with the National Trust’s annual Blossom campaign.
