HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ihope you’ve had a restful holiday and a good start to 2024. I’ve just about recovered from all the festive fizz and can’t wait to return to planet pop for RETROPOP’s most exciting year yet!

Kicking things off, we’re going back to the ‘90s with a celebration of ‘So Tough’, the fabulous second album from Saint Etienne that took them straight into the UK Top 10 and featured the classic hit single, You’re In A Bad Way.

With exclusive commentary on the LP and some exciting news about what the rest of 2024 holds for Saint Etienne, it’s a joy to have the band as this month’s cover stars.

There’s plenty more from the decade in the pages of this edition, as we catch up with EMF and Shed Seven, both of whom have brilliant new albums out over the next few weeks, hear from ‘80s duo Go West on their ‘Dancing On The Couch’ reissue and ‘00s chart-topper Sandi Thom on her new music, and step into the mind of Paloma Faith for an introduction to her new album, ‘The Glorification Of Sadness’.

We also kick off the countdown to Eurovision 2024 as we meet the first cohort of performers who’ll take to the Malmö stage including the UK’s own Olly Alexander - and get a preview of the sensational set design, plus we take you inside Cher’s recent live event in London, revisit Kylie Minogue’s Royal Albert Hall takeover, and spotlight the classic albums from the past four decades that are set to hit major milestones over the next 12 months.

As always, it’s a jam packed issue - enjoy, and I’ll see you again in four weeks’ time…