3 w. ago Six great reads: the trouble with ‘great men’, Fire Island’s hedonistic party palaces and close encounters with Sly Stone

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days Continue reading...

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3 w. ago LCD Soundsystem honour Brian Wilson and Sly Stone at residency’s opening night

The New York group played at London’s Brixton Academy.

Politics

3 w. ago Two musical revolutionaries, Sly Stone and Brian Wilson, leave life's stage nearly simultaneously

Sometimes death, as life, brings strange symmetries

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Send me some money!’ My unforgettable encounters with the legendary Sly Stone

He went from the towering highs of the 60s and 70s, where he changed the face of music, to the shambolic lows of a decades-long addiction. But interviewing the music genius over the years showed me a man who was awed, revered and strangely shySly Stone, pioneering funk and soul musician, dies aged 82A trailblazer and icon of hope and painSly Stone – a life in picturesIn 2013, there didn’t seem much point in requesting an interview with Sly Stone. It was 31 years since he had released an album of new material, Ain’t But the One Way, which he had abandoned midway through, vanishing completely from the studio and leaving the producer Stewart Levine to patch together what he could. It was longer still since he had produced any music that was even vaguely close to the standard he had set himself in the late 60s and early 70s – a six-year period bookended by the release of the groundbreaking single Dance to the Music in 1967 and his last truly classic album, Fresh, in 1973 – when he could...

Politics

3 w. ago Sly Stone was a trailblazer who changed the course of music – and an icon of both hope and pain

With the Family Stone, Sly was so audacious it was hard to believe his brilliance could ever be exhausted – making his unravelling all the more painful to watchSly Stone, pioneering funk and soul musician, dies aged 82Sly Stone’s greatest songs – ranked!Sly Stone – a life in picturesEven though he recorded three of funk’s most foundational albums – four if you include 1970’s Greatest Hits, as flawless a good time as pop ever delivered – Sly Stone’s subsequent fall from grace was perceived as a grave betrayal of his talent. That Stone’s unravelling was so conspicuous – his drug abuse apparent in every wasted chat show appearance, his infallible hit-machine waning after his Family Stone became estranged – only exacerbated the sting of this loss. But Stone’s imperial era lasted almost a decade and delivered a discography that remains the acme of funk. He changed the course of pop and reconfigured the structure and essence of dance music, multiple times. He was an icon of hope, of pain,...

Politics

3 w. ago Sly Stone was a trailblazer who changed the course of music – and an icon of both hope and pain | Stevie Chick

With the Family Stone, Sly was so audacious it was hard to believe his brilliance could ever be exhausted – making his unravelling all the more painful to watchSly Stone, pioneering funk and soul musician, dies aged 82Sly Stone’s greatest songs – ranked!Sly Stone – a life in picturesEven though he recorded three of funk’s most foundational albums – four if you include 1970’s Greatest Hits, as flawless a good time as pop ever delivered – Sly Stone’s subsequent fall from grace was perceived as a grave betrayal of his talent. That Stone’s unravelling was so conspicuous – his drug abuse apparent in every wasted chat show appearance, his infallible hit-machine waning after his Family Stone became estranged – only exacerbated the sting of this loss. But Stone’s imperial era lasted almost a decade and delivered a discography that remains the acme of funk. He changed the course of pop and reconfigured the structure and essence of dance music, multiple times. He was an icon of hope, of pain,...

Politics

3 w. ago Sly Stone dies aged 82 as tributes are paid to Sly and the Family frontman

Sylvester Stewart was described as a "monumental figure" in the music industry.

Events

3 w. ago Sly Stone dead at 82: Funk legend during the 60s passes away as cause of death is revealed

Stone's family announced the influential musician's death in a statement released Monday. They revealed that he had a prolonged battle with  COPD and had other underlying health issues.

Events

3 w. ago Sly Stone, leader of funk revolutionaries Sly and the Family Stone, dies at 82

Sly Stone, an electrifying musician, songwriter and showman whose Sly and the Family Stone transformed popular music in the 1960s and ’70s, has died

Events

3 w. ago Sly Stone dead: Sly and the Family Stone singer dies, aged 82

Sly Stone, who fronted the band Sly and the Family Stone, has died, aged 82, it's been announced this week, with his family issuing a statement on the news of his death

Events

3 w. ago Sly Stone death: Funk and soul legend of ‘Dance to the Music’ fame dies aged 82

Sly and the Family Stone rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s

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