Latest articles by Neil Crossley
How a song rejected three times by The Beatles became the centrepiece of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass
At one point Harrison considered offering the song to Frank Sinatra
“It was like getting hit in the head with a baseball bat. I fell in love with her instantly. And it sparked something”
“I still make a very good living off of that one song - easily over $100,000 a year"
Lennon was clutching the tape of the final mix as he and Yoko left for the Dakota: John Lennon’s final creative act
The lyrics to this left-field song would prove tragically prophetic
“I played it with the band and it sounded like a bag of…”: How Neil Finn created Crowded House's classic hit
"Hey now, hey now..."
“The most expensive bit of drumming in history”: When stars of Duran Duran and Chic formed a decadent ’80s supergroup
“I had to be, like, strapped to the desk if I was gonna get a bass line finished," John Taylor said
“I’ve rocked my roll. It’s a boring dead end”: How David Bowie reinvented his music in a time of darkness and misery
A dazzling epic that ushered in Bowie’s new persona, the Thin White Duke
“I ended up changing the whole song because Tony broke up with me”: How Gwen Stefani's heartbreak inspired a No.1 hit
"I gotta write about what’s in my head – and that’s the only thing on my mind”
“I don’t exist if I don’t have a record in the charts”: How John Lennon created one of his last and most poignant songs
After the turbulence and emotional trauma of his past, the song had a sense of reflection and calm
“He said, ‘Nice record. Now, who should we get to sing it?’ How Paul McCartney created the Bond classic Live And Let Die
“Writing a Bond song is a bit of an accolade. I always had a sneaking ambition to do it”
“I went to the label and said, ‘This song sucks. This is not the song I wrote.’”: The war over a ’90s anthem
An idiosyncratic and insanely catchy rock-pop classic
“I asked if there was another way of expressing whether God was ‘just a slob like one of us’”: Inside a ’90s classic
"I knew that we were going to be hearing this for the rest of our lives”
“It's a sad song because it's all about the unattainable”: The ballad that sparked the breakup of The Beatles
Featuring "atrocious" bass-playing by John Lennon
“Prince was always borrowing my car. But it's not a red Corvette – it's a pink Mercury!”: Inside Prince's first big hit
One of the most sexually explicit songs ever to appear in the mainstream pop charts
“A song about a woman involved with birds and magic”: The Fleetwood Mac hit that Stevie Nicks wrote in 10 minutes!
Nicks’ performance of the song on stage every night “was like an exorcism”
“They all thought it was a bonkers idea but it worked”: The Eagles classic that defined the sound of country rock
"Those open chords felt like an announcement: ‘And now... the Eagles!’”
“They certainly booed”: How Bob Dylan created one of his greatest songs as controversy erupted around him
When Dylan went electric, not everyone approved
“The title was a joke, but it fitted the song so perfectly”: How Massive Attack created a groundbreaking ’90s hit
“We were trying to create dance music for the head rather than the feet"
“I gave it to Michael and he wrote that lyric in one stream of consciousness”: How INXS created a funky No.1 hit
Need You Tonight marked a distinct sonic shift for the band
“They joined the two bits together to make one song”: The story of the greatest thing The Beatles ever recorded
How Sgt. Pepper's epic finale was created
“I was screaming at the top of my lungs that it had to be a whistle!”: How Tori Amos created the classic Cornflake Girl
Its memorable infectious hooks belie a dark lyrical core
“We’d never heard of ‘disco music’ at the time”: How the Bee Gees created the greatest dancefloor-filler of all time
Ah, ah, ah, ah...
“Mick came in with a song, but it was very Dylan-esque”: How The Rolling Stones created Sympathy For The Devil
The Stones were hitting a whole new creative peak
“He said, ‘It’s just rock ’n’ roll with lipstick on!’”: How Bowie and Lennon bonded to create a funky No.1 hit
“We spent hours and hours discussing fame," Bowie said
