WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
A veritable trip to the 1980s Grebo scene
Selling their soul to rock ‘n’ roll - Bykers at the 100 Club
[Mik Sabiers] 
JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
Gaye Bykers on Acid
100 Club
SAMPLES aplenty, psychedelic riffs, sly lyrics, wizard like guitarists and selling their soul to rock ‘n’ roll, this Bykers gig at the 100 Club is a veritable trip to the 1980s Grebo scene, but also a testament to how much fun the four piece were and are.
Kicking off with a sample of the film intro from A Clockwork Orange, the band launch into TV Cabbage and are immediately in their groove. That’s all the more impressive as they have a stand in guitarist Tom Stanley subbing for Tokyo-based founder member Tony Byker whose guitar licks are suitably psychedelic and hard to emulate. Tom excels.
There follows a 17-song set that veers from standard indie punk to thrash metal and dance rock that brings to mind a clash of music genres, but all go down well with the committed fan base.
Stand-out treats include Shoulders, written as a tribute to the fans that followed the band from gig to gig and Zen Express which takes 1960s guitar riffs and crosses them with a punk edge.
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