Classic Pop

Classic Pop magazine is the ultimate celebration of great pop and chart music - featuring both the stars of yesteryear and the classic pop-inspired acts breaking today, Classic Pop brings you closer to the genre and music you love. Each issue – with 80s pop at its core – brings you the very best exclusive artist interviews, in-depth features, music news and reviews celebrating the finest acts from the late-70s post-punk scene through to the pop, synth-pop, New Romantic, ska, indie, electronic and guitar greats of the 80s and chart stars of the 90s – plus the best new acts that embrace our classic pop heritage.

WELCOME

Classic Pop

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

POP UP SWITCHED-ON KYLIE REBOOTS FESTIVE LP

KYLIE MINOGUE • KYLIE CHRISTMAS (FULLY WRAPPED)

CHILFEST 2026 ARTISTS UNVEILED

ULTRAVOX • ULTRAVOX MADE COMPILATION ALBUMS ESSENTIAL WHEN THEY RELEASED THE COLLECTION BACK IN 1984 AND, FOUR DECADES LATER, THEY’RE BRINGING IT BACK WITH SO MUCH MORE MATERIAL TO LOVE. FRONTMAN MIDGE URE IS ON HAND TO TAKE US THROUGH ITS STARTLING TRANSFORMATION.

1 HIT WONDER

RICHARD DARBYSHIRE • 8 MARCH 1960 – 10 NOVEMBER 2025

WAINWRIGHTS ALBERT HALL DATE FOR GARLAND SHOW

Say NO TO Socks

BRIAN NASH • HAVING LONG BEEN NEGLECTED, FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD’S CATALOGUE WAS HONOURED THIS YEAR WITH THE EPIC 7CD+BLU-RAY BOXSET OF WELCOME TO THE PLEASUREDOME. TO CELEBRATE ITS STATUS AS OUR BEST REISSUE OF 2025, THEIR GUITARIST SPOKE TO CLASSIC POP ABOUT FALLING BACK IN LOVE WITH THE BAND AND THE CHANCES OF MORE FRANKIE…

DAVE BALL MOURNED BY MUSIC WORLD • TRIBUTES ARE PAID TO THE SYNTH-POP INNOVATOR WHO PASSED AWAY AGED 66 ON 22 OCTOBER

LOST & FOUND

OMD AMONG A-LIST HEADLINERS AT LATEST BRISTOL SOUNDS SERIES

80s CLASSICAL RETURNS TO LEEDS

My POP David Dastmalchian life • THE ACTOR (THE SUICIDE SQUAD, LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL, BLADE RUNNER 2049, DUNE) AND GRAPHIC NOVEL WRITER TELLS ALL ABOUT HIS LOVE OF THE MUPPETS, DEPECHE MODE AND 90s SHOEGAZE…

Ian Peel’s A to Z of POP • REMEMBER WHEN POP WENT HOUSE? THE 80s INFLECTION POINT WHERE WE STARTED TO HEAR THE FIRST SONAR PINGS OF THE DANCE MUSIC EXPLOSION THAT WAS TO CHANGE THE CHARTS FOREVER…

This month in POPJANUARY 199 • SINÉAD UNVEILS A TEARY-EYED CLASSIC, BOWIE BEGINS A VISIONARY GLOBAL TOUR AND THE POP WORLD MOURNS MEL APPLEBY

TOP 5 UK ALBUMS CHART • 14 JANUARY 1990

TOP 100 POP ALBUMS • Our ultimate selection of the greatest LPs in the Classic Pop wheelhouse

NICK HEYWARD’S FAVOURITES

MARTIN FRY’S FAVOURITES

TONY HADLEY’S FAVOURITES

MARTYN WARE’S FAVOURITES • This was a very tough job. I could have done 20 lists, each for a different genre. But here goes, in no particular order…

BETTY BOO’S FAVOURITES

SPARKS’ FAVOURITES

JOHN TAYLOR’S FAVOURITES

“WE WEREN’T BORN TO BE POP STARS” • TAKING TIME OUT FROM THEIR LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY, TEARS FOR FEARS’ ROLAND ORZABAL AND CURT SMITH REFLECT ON THE BAND’S LANDMARK ALBUM SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR AS IT CELEBRATES ITS 40th ANNIVERSARY – PLUS LOOK AHEAD TO NEW TOUR DATES AND ANOTHER STUDIO LP

ABANDONED MOTHER

MIRÓ MANDATE

KYLIE MINOGUE LIGHT YEARS • CELEBRATING ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY, THE SINGER’S HUGE RETURN TO FORM SAW HER EMBRACE HER POP ROOTS, FOLLOWING THE ‘INDIE KYLIE’ ERA OF THE MID-90s. THE END RESULT IS AN UNASHAMED DISCO RECORD, DESTINED FOR THE DANCEFLOOR. THE REST IS HISTORY…

THE PLAYERS

THE SONGS

THE VIDEOS

AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY • AS HE RELEASES HIS LATEST SOUNDTRACK ALBUM, ODYSSEY, THE THE’S MATT JOHNSON TELLS CLASSIC POP HOW SCORING FILMS THREW HIM A CREATIVE LIFELINE DURING HIS LONG, SELF-IMPOSED MUSICAL EXILE

IT TAKES TWO

GALAXIES FAR, FAR...