Michael Hann
@michaelhann.bsky.social
Writer for newspapers and magazines, sleevenotes etc. Two books: Denim and Leather, and The Gospel of the Hold Steady. QPR supporter, hoping always that change really is possible
Looking for guests for my new podcasts, The Rest Is Podcasts and The Podcast Agents, in which me and an amusingly contrary but also sympathetic co-host take a look at the stories behind the podcasts everyone is talking about.
February 10, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Looking for guests for my new podcasts, The Rest Is Podcasts and The Podcast Agents, in which me and an amusingly contrary but also sympathetic co-host take a look at the stories behind the podcasts everyone is talking about.
Political writers need to stop describing Mandelson as having a "fatal weakness" for very, very rich people, or similar phrases. It isn't a fatal weakness. His career-long purpose has been to get close to the very, very rich and powerful as an end in itself.
February 7, 2026 at 9:18 AM
Political writers need to stop describing Mandelson as having a "fatal weakness" for very, very rich people, or similar phrases. It isn't a fatal weakness. His career-long purpose has been to get close to the very, very rich and powerful as an end in itself.
I reviewed terrific shows by Annie and the Caldwells and Westside Cowboy. spectator.com/article/elec...
Electrifying: Annie & the Caldwells, at Ronnie Scott’s, reviewed
Annie & the Caldwells are a long-running family gospel ensemble from West Point, Mississippi – father and sons playing guitar, bass and drums, mother and daughters singing. The chaps offer a sinewy, s...
spectator.com
February 6, 2026 at 11:23 PM
I reviewed terrific shows by Annie and the Caldwells and Westside Cowboy. spectator.com/article/elec...
Why have so many prime ministers in recent decades employed absolutely psychotic advisers? Psychotic press secs I kind of get, but advisers who routinely press terrible courses?
February 5, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Why have so many prime ministers in recent decades employed absolutely psychotic advisers? Psychotic press secs I kind of get, but advisers who routinely press terrible courses?
Who can forget all the masterpieces he wrote last year?
February 4, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Who can forget all the masterpieces he wrote last year?
The notion that Bill Gates needed Epstein’s help to meet super rich charity donors is like Paul McCartney claiming he needed Gary Glitter to put him in touch with other rock stars.
February 4, 2026 at 5:49 PM
The notion that Bill Gates needed Epstein’s help to meet super rich charity donors is like Paul McCartney claiming he needed Gary Glitter to put him in touch with other rock stars.
DEADLINE DAY LATEST: Just in - there is no chance of a Real to Rotherham loan deal for Bellingham, sources say
February 2, 2026 at 3:32 PM
DEADLINE DAY LATEST: Just in - there is no chance of a Real to Rotherham loan deal for Bellingham, sources say
This is painful to read. Someone not quite grasping his interviewer is telling him he has become a de facto fascist. www.newyorker.com/culture/q-an...
What a “Melania” Cinematographer Hoped to Accomplish
Dante Spinotti has had a legendary Hollywood career. Why is he making propaganda for the Trump family?
www.newyorker.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:52 PM
This is painful to read. Someone not quite grasping his interviewer is telling him he has become a de facto fascist. www.newyorker.com/culture/q-an...
Apparently no one in the Virgin c-suite knows about Google.
February 1, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Apparently no one in the Virgin c-suite knows about Google.
Brett Ratner’s comeback is going well, I see
January 31, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Brett Ratner’s comeback is going well, I see
All those billionaires and politicians and bureaucrats who kept laughing with Epstein about young girls and sex *after* he had been convicted … I have no words.
January 31, 2026 at 8:36 PM
All those billionaires and politicians and bureaucrats who kept laughing with Epstein about young girls and sex *after* he had been convicted … I have no words.
What odds that Gianni Infantino adds the inaugural FIFA Film Prize to the World Cup opening ceremony?
January 31, 2026 at 1:45 AM
What odds that Gianni Infantino adds the inaugural FIFA Film Prize to the World Cup opening ceremony?
Reposted by Michael Hann
Lads. You've invented Rumbelows.
January 27, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Lads. You've invented Rumbelows.
There is nothing they can do to make Twickenham suitable for gigs. Even if they improve the transport, there’s still just the one station, and the stadium has worse facilities than non-league football grounds. www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/j...
RFU targets transport revamp and undercover police to sway Twickenham residents over concert plan
English rugby’s governing body is launching fresh proposals to convince local residents to back its plan to host more concerts for £660m Twickenham upgrade
www.theguardian.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:00 PM
There is nothing they can do to make Twickenham suitable for gigs. Even if they improve the transport, there’s still just the one station, and the stadium has worse facilities than non-league football grounds. www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/j...
People watching the videos: They just shot him! He wasn’t attacking! The government’s lying!
News organisations, hours later: After many hours of forensic study, it appears the agents may have shot him and our analysis suggests he wasn’t carrying a gun, in apparent contradiction of federal accounts
News organisations, hours later: After many hours of forensic study, it appears the agents may have shot him and our analysis suggests he wasn’t carrying a gun, in apparent contradiction of federal accounts
January 25, 2026 at 10:13 PM
People watching the videos: They just shot him! He wasn’t attacking! The government’s lying!
News organisations, hours later: After many hours of forensic study, it appears the agents may have shot him and our analysis suggests he wasn’t carrying a gun, in apparent contradiction of federal accounts
News organisations, hours later: After many hours of forensic study, it appears the agents may have shot him and our analysis suggests he wasn’t carrying a gun, in apparent contradiction of federal accounts
Wrote about the wonderful Bernard Butler and two young bands. spectator.com/article/why-...
Why I will always have time for Bernard Butler
Bernard Butler has popped up a couple of times in this column, but not alone – once, with two fellow songwriter-guitarists as Butler, Blake & Grant; but also writing and performing with Jessie Buckley...
spectator.com
January 22, 2026 at 11:15 AM
Wrote about the wonderful Bernard Butler and two young bands. spectator.com/article/why-...
I was just thinking how well We Didn’t Start the Fire has aged
January 21, 2026 at 12:18 PM
I was just thinking how well We Didn’t Start the Fire has aged
If the Western Hemisphere comes under US control, I’m going to have to move east of Greenwich to stay independent, and there’s no tube out there.
January 21, 2026 at 12:12 PM
If the Western Hemisphere comes under US control, I’m going to have to move east of Greenwich to stay independent, and there’s no tube out there.
Spoke to camp Maiden and director Nia DaCosta to find out about *that* scene in The Bone Temple. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
Release the beast! How Iron Maiden and a naked Ralph Fiennes created the ultimate big-screen needle drop
The Number of the Beast lights up an unforgettable scene in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple thanks to director Nia DaCosta expertly blending ‘craziness and romance’
www.theguardian.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Spoke to camp Maiden and director Nia DaCosta to find out about *that* scene in The Bone Temple. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
Perfect joke
Brooklyn Beckham: it's time to address the shadowy shape that's difficult to photograph in the room
January 19, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Perfect joke
I will always chose to think of Denmark in the words of Clive Tyldesley: “The kingdom of the land of Peter Schmeichel.”
January 19, 2026 at 9:24 PM
I will always chose to think of Denmark in the words of Clive Tyldesley: “The kingdom of the land of Peter Schmeichel.”
While I’m at it, I forgot to post last week’s column about PiL and Plant. spectator.com/article/john...
Johnny Rotten’s still got it
Robert Plant and John Lydon were fixed in the public mind at the age of 20. Plant, a golden-haired lad who had grown up in Worcestershire, became the leonine singer of Led Zeppelin in 1968, a self-pro...
spectator.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:48 PM
While I’m at it, I forgot to post last week’s column about PiL and Plant. spectator.com/article/john...
I spoke to the Damned about 50 years of it all. I think Dave Vanian is a fascinating figure. Even Sensible says no one really knows what he's like. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
‘We wouldn’t still be playing if we’d got stinking rich’: the Damned celebrate 50 years of punk, goth and holy grail hunting
An appetite for self-destruction left Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies hugely influential but financially insecure. They’re back with a big show and their first album together since 1995
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:42 PM
I spoke to the Damned about 50 years of it all. I think Dave Vanian is a fascinating figure. Even Sensible says no one really knows what he's like. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...
They’re not bothering to pretend any more
Ukip have submitted a new logo and slogan to the Electoral Commission, swapping the £ pound sterling symbol for a cross, that looks very much like it is modelled on the Iron Cross used by Prussia & Germany 1871-1918 and Hitler's Nazi regime from 1933-45
January 13, 2026 at 11:10 AM
They’re not bothering to pretend any more
Jesus Christ. Ronnie Wood on the Hootenanny. Someone put him out of my misery.
December 31, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Jesus Christ. Ronnie Wood on the Hootenanny. Someone put him out of my misery.