Who will be the music stars of 2008?

Our chief rock critic explains how he has had his share of hits and misses when it comes to tipping stars, as our critics nail their flags to 2008’s mast

Pete Paphides

Where are you off to?” asks my visiting father-in-law. “I’m off to see this singer called Duffy. She’s going to be huge in 2008,” I say. He seems momentarily disappointed that I know this already – as though I’m party to some huge music-business fix.

“How do you know?” he asks. Beyond her being a great singer, I itemise the industry buzz for him. Key to it all is the fact that Radios 1 and 2 love her – a surefire indicator. Indeed, pending her availability for Woman’s Hour and her form in those vital preseason friendlies, it would be unwise to rule out Radios 3, 4 and 5Live.

Predicting the next big thing isn’t quite the gamble it once was. While working for Melody Maker and Time Out in the mid1990s, I was perpetually encouraged to unearth new artists ahead of everyone else. There were some bad years. The year I tipped Northern Uproar – 1996, I think – was not an auspicious one. At Melody Maker in 1992 I “got” Radiohead early, which just about made up for the review of Oasis’s first single in which I said that they sounded like a thick Blur(I know – they sound nothing like Blur).

Probably my most prescient year, though, was 1995. Having been told by the American Dust Brothers to desist from calling themselves the same thing, the Chemical Brothers had to hastily think of a new name in time for their appearance in our feature. I was the first person to hear their new name. I also picked Supergrass and Catatonia – all of whom went on to justify my faith, more so, at any rate, than Delicatessen and ROC did.

Ten years ago there was more scope for genuine surprises. John Peel existed, which meant that John Peel sessions also existed for bands who didn’t have to rely on the whims of a London-based industry. Admittedly, you can always attempt to become a MySpace phenomenon, but even MySpace phenomena have to look the part for an industry that will sign a band only if they can be marketed in, and beyond, this country. For that to happen, certain factors all need to be in place: radio, TV, the music press and, increasingly, the tabloids.

This time last year, I told you that the baggy Birmingham Britpop of the Twang would do pretty well. Years ago I used to flatter myself into thinking that I was part of the weather that was making the weather vane go about its business. Where a band like the Twang were concerned, I knew my job was essentially that of the rusty old cock atop a spire, merely drawing your attention to what the vane was saying.

The head of music at Radio 1, George Ergatoudis, had told me that he was a fan, so signing them presented a minimal risk to their label, B Unique. Even if the Twang didn’t go supernova this year, the support of Radio 1 ensured that they had any sort of a year at all. Rumours about a memo circulated to record companies by Ergatoudis – basically saying: “You might want to talk to me before investing money in what you believe to be the next big thing” – were never substantiated. But there’s a certain amount of sense in the idea.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3099709.ece