FIFTY3FRIDAYS: BOXING DAY PLAYLIST
In last Friday’s column, I shared seven songs that stood out for me in 2025. I’ve added another 35 to create my Boxing Day Playlist 2025.
Dec 26, 2025
FIFTY3FRIDAYS: HERE ARE SOME I MISSED EARLIER
Why ‘tis the season of those ‘best of’ lists. Yet in a year when I hardly wrote anything, it seems a bit of catching up is required before making any pronouncements about favourite records of 2025. So, let’s chew over some of the songs I have not had the pleasure of bringing to your attention until now and see what lands. This process will continue and end beyond today's post with a Boxing Day Playlist. At least that’s the plan… Photo by Gerome Bruneau We’ll start with a nam
Dec 20, 2025
FIFTY3FRIDAYS: NOW ON INSTAGRAM
Ever the Johnny-come-lately, last week I thought it was about time I opened an Instagram account -@TonyHardyFifty3. That bit was easy. Working out what to do with it will take a bit more time but most if not all the artists I have ever written about have an Insta page so it is much easier to tag them to point out I have just said something nice about their new single. Doing so on X has become a complete pain and after a longer break from publishing this column than I had inte
Dec 5, 2025
FIFTY3FRIDAYS: A TRIUMPHANT RETURN
This might be the first edition of Fifty3Fridays since May but today’s headline is all about a return to the stage by a very special artist after a 13 year break. More of which soon, but before we get to it, where in the world are we, James? Well, Friday night found me at the mid nineteenth century Anglo-Catholic church of St Matthias in Stoke Newington, North London. This in itself presents a profound public transport challenge, especially when you have decamped to Haslemere
Nov 30, 2025
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: GLASTONBURY EMERGING TALENT 2025 RESULTS
All Glastonbury ETC Final photography kindly by Rick Mav After being offline since mid-November, other than two posts to support the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition 2025 , Fifty3Fridays is back with a resume of who made it through to the live final and who won. Readers may recall that I downed the music writing tools as we contemplated the enormity of a house move after almost 35 years in our Kingston home. The column made a brief return in January to announce ETC 202
May 2, 2025
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: GLASTONBURY ETC 2025 LONGLIST IS OUT
Fifty3Fridays on a Wednesday? From the many thousands who entered its prized Emerging Talent Competition 2025 in January, Glastonbury...
Mar 26, 2025
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: GLASTONBURY EMERGING TALENT COMPETITION 2025 ANNOUNCED
Glastonbury Festival’s EMERGING TALENT COMPETITION is back for 2025 , with supported from PRS for Music and PRS Foundation once more....
Jan 23, 2025
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: NOVEMBER SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
A brief return for Fifty3 Fridays today as I follow the time-honoured tradition of posting a playlist on the first Friday of the month...
Dec 6, 2024
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: TAKING A BREAK
Today’s Fifty3 Fridays is technically issue no 250. However, it coincides with a decision I have had to take regarding the remainder of...
Nov 15, 2024
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
Searching for a theme to pull together disparate pieces of music is a habitual challenge for your writer. Mostly it does not work as the...
Nov 8, 2024
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: THE TICKING CLOCK
This may have to be a potted edition as the ticking clock may not stretch as far as I’d like today. Time will tell, as the adage goes....
Nov 1, 2024
FIFTY3 FRIDAYS: LIVE AT THE BEDFORD
We focus today on one of my favourite things to cover - a live review. Last Tuesday found me once more in the homely surroundings of that splendid South London hub for new live music, The Bedford at Balham. It was a great pleasure to curate another evening in its hallowed Club Room with three acts whose diverse music has graced these columns previously, Silk Cinema, Frances Mistry and The Music Of Sound. With the venue’s Elizabethan theatre-like setting, expert resident sound
Oct 25, 2024
