Ben Forrest

Exploring the origins of rock and roll music video, from the Soundies of the 1940s to the weird and wonderful film work of Devo and MTV four decades later.

Exploring the wild life of Janis Martin, the female rockabilly star who was once dubbed the 'Female Elvis' after signing to RCA Victor at the age of only 15.

Looking back at the tale of Stuart Hamblen, the Texan singing cowboy radio star who turned to temperance and prohibition politics back in the 1940s and 1950s.

Exploring the strange tale of Riker Records, an AI-driven, northern soul focused record label from the mind and computer software of producer Colin Day.

Bruce Springsteen has always been indebted to his early influences from back in the 1960s, with the world of soul and R&B proving particularly enduring.

Delving into the origins and history of music bootlegging and piracy to find out who earns the unenviable crown of having the most pirated album in history.

Exploring the story of Symarip, the ska and reggae outfit who were the first to target their music exclusively to the blossoming skinhead subculture in the UK.

John Lydon has rarely made an effort to appease the music industry, and that led to Public Image Ltd's 1986 album 'Album' being unfairly "retired" by the label.

A year of Cold War conflict, industrial action, and political pop, 1985 was a landmark year for pop music, but which songs held the number-one spot for longest?

Performance is a difficult art to master, particularly for rock and roll frontmen; even Elton John could only highlight three rock frontmen as being any good.

Jeff Lynne has always drawn from a wide range of influencers, from ELO to his more recent solo material, but Richards Rodgers is one of the most unexpected.

Looking back at the age-old origins of music piracy, from the days of dubbed phonograph records to 'home taping' and the age of Napster's digital downloads.

French egg-punk outfit Technopolice have unveiled their first full-length album, via Howlin' Banana, and it's garage rock energy is impossible to ignore

Pop music has always had a short attention span, but a select few artists over the years have managed to create number one hits with ten-minute runtimes.

Noel Gallagher was the songwriting force behind Oasis throughout their golden age, but in 2002, Liam Gallagher stepped up as a songwriter in his own right.

1977 was a year of space shuttles, silver jubilees, and punk revolution, but the songs that defined the pop charts of the year painted a very different picture.

Dive into all the best new music releases from over the past week, with a very special selection compiled by London art rockers Legss in the Big Indie Playlist.

Oasis came up during the age of American grunge, but Noel Gallagher could never identify with the depressive characteristics of Kurt Cobain or Eddie Vedder.

The Beatles spawned their fair share of parodies and pretenders over the years, but few were as commercially successful as John Fred and His Playboy Band.

Looking at the rich musical history of India, and exploring the greatest-selling artist to ever grace the airwaves of the South Asian nation