BOB MOULD/ MERCURY REV THE FORUM LONDON

He has been compared to Prince but admires the confessional pop of Pulp. Rachid is one black R&B singer who won't be typecast.

For over 20 years Cropredy has embraced its rockers

DEBBIE HARRY, the face of the Seventies pop group Blondie, sang for a jazz band at the Barbican in London last night after confirming that her pop comeback plans were in full swing.

Sir Elton John and his manager John Reid have been friends for years and suffered their fair share of rows. So why have they split up for good?

SINGLES

Carry on camping. The highlight of the 12th London Lesbian Gay and Film Festival will, of course, be our very own David Benedict who, with Amy Lame, will be dishing up an exploration of "Camp Cooking and Queer Cuisine". Once you've feasted on that, there are over 180 screenings of the best in gay and lesbian cinema, from a Mother's Day of films celebrating mater to rare 70s porn which, it says here, makes Boogie Nights look like Noddy. To 26 March, National Film Theatre, BFI on the South Bank, Waterloo, London SE1; Box Office 0171 928 3232 or visit www.llgff.co.uk

I had considered making a quip to the effect that Lisa Loeb is the the exception to the rule about men, making passes, at women who wear glasses. It would not have gone down well.

Rainer Ptacek, guitarist, singer, songwriter: born East Berlin 7 June 1951; married Patti Keating (two sons, one daughter); died Tucson, Arizona 12 November 1997.

There are many mysteries in Tajikistan, though perhaps none greater than the national obsession with gold teeth. In Dushanbe, the capital of this desperately impoverished nation, they still glint at you from almost every mouth. In some instances, every single tooth has been replaced.

Cayte Williams on a man with a mission to give rockers back their favourite haunt

Peter Grant, the manager of Led Zeppelin, perhaps the most successful rock band of all time, was a towering personality whose dedication to Zeppelin helped make them Seventies superstars. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were Zeppelin's front men; behind the scenes Peter Grant was their fearless protector. It was Grant who arranged their deal with Atlantic Records in 1968, then hailed as one of the biggest in industry history. He never interfered with their music, but was a "hands-on" manager who travelled the world with his charges to ensure their financial and physical well-being.

MICHAEL STIPE throttled his mic-stand, and tossed its lifeless body to the floor. He sat on the stage, lay on the stage, threw John Travolta disco poses, jumped onto monitors, and, for most of the time, jolted and twitched like a malfunctioning robot during that sequence in a science- fiction film when its head is about to explode.

You've heard of the Philly sound, the sound of Nashville ... Pop is inextricably linked with the city. Yes, even British cities. Nick Coleman presents a guide to the music of urban Britain