Author Archives: John S

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About John S

I'm blogging about the things I love: music, sport, culture, London, with some photos to illustrate aspects of our wonderful city. I’ve written a novel called “The Decision”, a futuristic political thriller, and first of a trilogy. I’m also the author of a book on music since the 1970s called “ I Was There - A Musical Journey” and a volume of poetry about youth, “Growin’ Up - Snapshots/ Fragments”. All available on Amazon and Kindle.

End of the Road 2026

End of the Road’s 20th anniversary and my ninth EOTR. And as good as ever. It felt like there were more people there than before, and it’s certainly selling out faster these days. There were a few adjustments to the … Continue reading

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Premier League predictions for 2026-27 – and review of 2025-26

The Premier League season begins this Friday, 21 August, with champions Arsenal at home to newly-promoted Coventry. Time for the traditional predictions for the season ahead and a review of last season. 2025-26 Here’s how my predictions fared: Position Prediction … Continue reading

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Latitude 2026

Latitude’s 20th anniversary, and my 13th Latitude. I went thinking this would be my last – the aches and pains of standing around watching bands for ten hours a day, the lack of sleep even in a decent tent in … Continue reading

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My Top Ten albums of 2025

And so another year passes, I grow older and listen to more old favourites, more jazz. Less new stuff – but some. A few albums break through the tendency towards nostalgia, but even then most are by bands I’ve liked … Continue reading

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End of the Road 2025

My eighth End of the Road festival since 2016. As ever you look at the line up beforehand and think, a lot of the time, who are all these bands? Then you listen to the excellent EOTR playlist on Spotify … Continue reading

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Premier League predictions 2025-26 – and review of 2024-25

The Premier League season begins this Friday, 15 August, with champions Liverpool at home to Bournemouth. Time for the traditional predictions for the season ahead and a review of last season. 2024-25 Liverpool’s season by a mile. A ten point … Continue reading

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Latitude Festival 2025

Latitude’s 19th festival and my 13th. There was quite a group of us, though I’m not sure there was a time when we all got together. As ever I went up to Henham Park in Suffolk with my friend Jon, … Continue reading

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My favourite live music in 2024

I’d been thinking that I hadn’t been to as many concerts as usual this year. So, on a train journey recently I counted them up and found there were 40, not counting festivals. Not exactly a fallow year! And I’ve … Continue reading

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My Top Twenty Albums of 2024

With each passing year I find myself listening more to sounds of the past. That’s such a cliché, isn’t it? But it’s undeniable. I listened to new music in bursts, and picked up on individual tracks through 6 Music (primarily … Continue reading

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End of the Road 2024

Richard Hawley, headlining the Garden Stage at EOTR on Saturday night, declared his love for the festival. He comes every year with his kids. What he loved about it, he said, is that “There’s no bullshit.” I know what he … Continue reading

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