
Neil Crossley
Neil Crossley is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in publications such as The Guardian, The Times, The Independent and the FT. Neil is also a singer-songwriter, fronts the band Furlined and was a member of International Blue, a ‘pop croon collaboration’ produced by Tony Visconti.
Latest articles by Neil Crossley

“There’s something to that song that touches people”: The Fleetwood Mac classic that Stevie Nicks wrote in 10 minutes!
By Neil Crossley published
Nicks’ performance of the song on stage every night “was like an exorcism”

“In operas, if you have a double aria, it's what the woman does that really matters. The man lies, the woman tells the truth": The story of Fairytale Of New York
By Neil Crossley published
MusicRadar looks back on one of Shane MacGowan's most enduring and beloved achievements

“I have only flashes of making it”: How David Bowie reinvented his music with a song he could barely remember recording
By Neil Crossley published
A dazzling epic that ushered in Bowie’s new persona, the Thin White Duke

“When the music stopped I found myself still playing that riff”: How Tori Amos created the hit song Cornflake Girl
By Neil Crossley published
Its memorable infectious hooks belie a dark lyrical core

“Writing a Bond song is a bit of an accolade”: How Paul McCartney reunited with George Martin to create Live And Let Die
By Neil Crossley published
It was the first rock song to open a Bond film

How a song rejected three times by The Beatles became the centrepiece of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass
By Neil Crossley published
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”
By Neil Crossley published
“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
By Neil Crossley published
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
By Neil Crossley published
"Hey now, hey now..."

“The most expensive bit of drumming in history”: When stars of Duran Duran and Chic formed a decadent ’80s supergroup
By Neil Crossley published
“I had to be, like, strapped to the desk if I was gonna get a bass line finished," John Taylor said

“I ended up changing the whole song because Tony broke up with me”: How Gwen Stefani's heartbreak inspired a No.1 hit
By Neil Crossley published
"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
By Neil Crossley published
After the turbulence and emotional trauma of his past, the song had a sense of reflection and calm
“I went to the label and said, ‘This song sucks. This is not the song I wrote.’”: The war over a ’90s anthem
By Neil Crossley published
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
By Neil Crossley published
"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
By Neil Crossley published
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
By Neil Crossley published
One of the most sexually explicit songs ever to appear in the mainstream pop charts

“They all thought it was a bonkers idea but it worked”: The Eagles classic that defined the sound of country rock
By Neil Crossley published
"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
By Neil Crossley published
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
By Neil Crossley published
“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
By Neil Crossley published
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
By Neil Crossley published
How Sgt. Pepper's epic finale was created

“We’d never heard of ‘disco music’ at the time”: How the Bee Gees created the greatest dancefloor-filler of all time
By Neil Crossley published
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
By Neil Crossley published
The Stones were hitting a whole new creative peak
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