Mr Bassman, boom boom, thwack thwack, talks exclusively, dang dang, chacker chacker, to Making Music, thock thock, thwackadang

Mr Funk Bass shows you how

Mark King, master bassist with a string of hit albums to his name as leader of Level 42, has reaped many of the rewards that pop stardom can bring — but satisfaction with the music industry is never guaranteed, as Paul Tingen discovers.

Once singer with The Pop Group, Mark Stewart has now joined forces with drummer Keith Leblanc and producer Adrian Sherwood under the title of The Maffia - Nicholas Rowland listens to the sounds of hell.

Chris Maillard meets the Meat and the men behind the Meat beat

Philip Bashe and Don McLeese stop a lone Stone stateside

The wonderful guitars that made the wonderful Midge the wonderful guitarist. That he is.

Gary Hopkins lends an ear to the Caledonian Crooner

A Man With A Gift

In between tours with Ultravox and appearances on Live Aid, Midge Ure somehow found the time to discuss the writing and recording of his first ever solo LP 'The Gift' and his No1 single with Ian Gilby.

Crowded House's Woodface album won widespread acclaim for the sheer quality of its songs. Paul Tingen quizes main man Neil Finn on perfecting the three-minute pop song.

From Gretsches to Strats, from Pop to Jazz. The ever-changing songwriter talks chords, choruses and contrapuntals with Adrian Deevoy

Making up chords with the Gretsch collector.

Naked truths from a pop idol

Nick some ideas for songwriting, nick a few big semi-acoustic Gretsches, nick this issue.

Omar: comin' to ya, on a dust road

Whether you like his music or not, nobody can knock Paul McCartney's achievements as the world's most successful songwriter. In a rare interview he talks to Patrick Humphries about the music, recordings and personalities that combined to produce his first solo album for three years - 'Press To Play'.

The artist who was a "face" is still struggling to gain true recognition for his musical talents.

Nobody has advanced the application of technology in music more than Peter Gabriel. His pioneering use of the Fairlight CMI helped popularise that instrument and give credence to sampling as a creative recording practice. Yet his music has never fallen prey to the technology trap - his latest album So remains a soulful collection of songs heavily reliant on technology but applied with subtlety. Ray Hammond talks to the great man about the album, new technology, Otis Redding, and his role as musician.

In a career spanning nearly 20 years, Gabriel has done everything from fronting Britain's best-known pomp rock band to manipulating ethnic music using modern technology. Dan Goldstein talks to a man of many talents.

Phil Ward Xplores the Real World of CD-ROM and multimedia

Hammill’s unique style is examined in print and on tape

Loner Peter Hammill has just remixed an album of love songs using the latest instruments technology can provide. Chris Heath reports.