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Michael Hann

Michael Hann is a freelance writer, and former music editor of the Guardian

October 2025

  • Little Richard and his band perform in the 1950s

    ‘Everyone seems to be on Zimmers’: after 70 years of hip-shaking thrills, is rock’n’roll dead?

    It is now seven decades since Little Richard sang Tutti Frutti – and a rip-roaring new type of music burst out into the world. But is rock’n’roll about to die out? Our writer goes searching for signs of life
  • The late Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, pictured here with the rest of the band, was the most proficient musician in the band's original line up

    Without Ace Frehley, Kiss could not have achieved their extraordinary greatness

    Michael Hann
    The guitarist was the most proficient musician in the original lineup and his bludgeoning ‘monster plod’ was central to their sound
  • An older man plays acoustic guitar and sings.

    John Lodge was a pioneering force of British rock’s most underrated band

    Michael Hann
    The late musician helped steer the Moody Blues into an exciting and groundbreaking new era of psychedelia

September 2025

  • Danny Thompson performing in 2013.

    From Kate Bush to Pentangle to T-Rex, the late Danny Thompson’s musical brilliance knew no bounds

    Michael Hann
    The bassist, who has died aged 86, was an extraordinary and wildly versatile presence in British music, bringing his personality into everything he played
  • Paloma Faith in a keffiyeh dress

    Together for Palestine concert: Benedict Cumberbatch, Damon Albarn and Neneh Cherry take stage at galvanising and star-studded gig for Gaza

    Scores of artists, speakers and activists appear a four-hour fundraiser curated by Brian Eno – but it’s Palestinian voices who make the biggest impression

    • Spinal Tap eat your heart out: the Pretty Things drummer Viv Prince forged the blueprint for rock’n’roll hijinks

      Michael Hann

    • Rick Davies brought a peculiar funk to Supertramp, a band that existed on its own unfashionable terms

      Michael Hann

    • ‘Our songs last three minutes but they feel like an hour’: the return of Spinal Tap – an exclusive that goes up to 11!

August 2025

  • John Fogerty

    ‘I tried to be nice. Sometimes I would explode’: John Fogerty on Creedence, contracts and control

    As the driving force behind Creedence Clearwater Revival, he wrote some of the 60s’ most enduring songs. But a poor record deal followed by years in the wilderness drove him to the brink of breakdown. Now 80, he looks back

July 2025

  • Ozzy Osbourne pictured in 1987.

    Sabbath, Satanism and solo stunners: Ozzy Osbourne’s 10 best recordings

    From his desolate wail on Black Sabbath’s doomy 70s masterpieces, to the twisted self-awareness of his huge-selling solo albums, Osbourne’s vocal style influenced generations of heavy metal
  • Band portrait. Three have moustaches and two are in 80s athleisure wear

    Wish you were still here: what happened to the one-hit wonders of 80s package holiday pop?

    Europop acts from Opus to Baltimora to Nena got huge after Brits brought their songs home from their summer breaks. But despite returning to obscurity, the artists say they’re not (sun)burnt by fame

    • Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne’s final gig – as it happened

    • Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne: Back to the Beginning review – all-star farewell to the gods of metal is epic and emotional

    • Sellout or washout: will the boom in huge outdoor concerts be sustained after Oasis?

June 2025

  • Through the ages … Bruce Springsteen.

    ‘I hate the arrangements!’ Two Bruce superfans dissect Springsteen’s lavish lost albums box set

  • Short and sharp … Iron Maiden.

    Iron Maiden review – 50th anniversary tour as near as uncompromising band get to greatest hits show

May 2025

  • Fleetwood Mac in the 1980s. Clockwise from left: John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

    They wanna be with you everywhere: why Fleetwood Mac are still totally ubiquitous

    With hit musical Stereophonic arriving in the West End and their albums permanently lodged in the charts, the rockers have earned a devoted new generation of fans
  • More complex than anyone gave them credit for … Status Quo in 2025, with Francis Rossi, centre.

    ‘I terribly wanted to be liked. Still do’: Status Quo’s Francis Rossi on money worries, his deepest neuroses – and sounding like Nellie the Elephant

    Lampooned by critics but loved by fans, Quo turned boogie into blockbuster rock. As a live album captures their 70s peak, their frontman remembers late friend Rick Parfitt – and reconsiders his whole sense of self
  • Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy Press publicity portrait Credit: Christy Bush

    That’s me in the spotlight: Michael Shannon on swapping Hollywood for an REM covers band

    The two-time Oscar nominee has teamed with indie rocker Jason Narducy to reconstruct REM albums in full. But can Shannon compete with Michael Stipe, who he calls rock’s most ‘efficient and direct’ frontman?

April 2025

  • Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips.

    The Flaming Lips review – stops and starts make this too much of a good thing

    With lengthy Wayne Coyne anecdotes and frequent interruptions for stage effects to be brought on and off, there was an awful lot of time during the Lips’s two-and-three-quarter hour show when nothing was happening
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