Enda Guinan

@endaguinan.com

770 Followers 1384 Following

Does digital things in the third sector. Host of Let There Be Music. Expect plenty of #NowListening. ‘Joy is an act of resistance’ -Toi Derricotte, The Undertaker’s Daughter (2011) he/him Galwegian in London. linktr.ee/endaguinan

Sleeve artwork for NOW Yearbook 1971. Words are white with reddish borders against a yellow gradient background.
A music chart entry snippet showing the album Cupid & Psyche '85 by Scritti Politti at position number 27. The entry features a small thumbnail of the album artwork, the bold position number with a pink "RE" label underneath it, and the text "LW: RE" on the bottom right, indicating a chart re-entry.
Close-up of stylus on a playing record. Sleeve of Scritti Politti'sCupid & Psyche 85 in the background.
Turntable playing a vinyl record. Sleeve of Leon Thomas album in the background as well as a small speaker.
Email from RareVinyl.com promoting vinyl records. The subject line reads “Iconic Vinyl That Always Sells Out + Perfect Xmas Gifts”, with fire and CD emojis. Below is the RareVinyl logo with the tagline “Selling Since 1985”, followed by navigation links including New Releases, All LPs, Best Sellers and Sell to Us.
A large group of people pose together at London Pride. In the centre, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, wearing sunglasses and a white England football shirt, applauds while smiling. Around him are people of different ages, ethnicities and gender expressions wearing colourful clothing, Pride-themed outfits and sunglasses. A large Progress Pride flag waves overhead, with smaller rainbow flags and placards visible behind the group, including one reading “Many Voices One Front”. In the foreground, one participant holds a rainbow fan reading “Love Is Love”. The atmosphere is celebratory and inclusive.
Square album cover for NOW That’s What I Call Pride. The classic metallic 3D NOW logo sits against a bright rainbow Pride flag background, with the word “PRIDE” in large rainbow-coloured block letters beneath. Along the bottom, a row of featured artists includes Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue, ABBA, Dua Lipa, Cher, Lil Nas X, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, RuPaul, Robyn, Miley Cyrus, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Queen, Dolly Parton and Steps.
A Portishead Dummy cassette release displayed on a white surface. On the left is the clear plastic case with the dark blue cover artwork showing a woman seated under a spotlight, plus a round yellow Virgin price sticker reading “Chart £7.99”. On the right is the black cassette with white printing, visible through its clear shell, labelled Dummy and bearing the Go! Discs logo.
A black vinyl record plays on a turntable, with the tonearm resting on the disc. Behind it, the album sleeve for Keith Jarrett’s The Köln Concert is propped up, showing a blurred black-and-white photo of Jarrett at the piano. A speaker sits to the right near a window, giving the scene a quiet home-listening feel.
Screenshot from the Official Singles Chart website showing “Rein Me In” by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean at number 1. The page lists its chart facts: peak position 1, label Polydor, first chart date 26/06/2025 and 54 weeks on the chart. A “Weeks on chart” panel shows 14 weeks at number 1, 36 weeks in the Top 10, 52 weeks in the Top 20, 53 weeks in the Top 40 and Top 75, and 54 weeks in the Top 100. Below, a chart run grid shows the song’s weekly positions from 26/06/2025 to 02/07/2026, with number 1 positions highlighted.
Screengrab of paragraph from review that reads: "And from Ed Sheeran he takes pretty much everything else, up to and including some of the themes of his songs. Much in the style of The A Team, Mary’s Song depicts a drug-addicted but good-hearted sex worker (despite her travails, the listener is assured, “she sings her song and it goes like do-do-do-do”). Dublin Lights, meanwhile, is a frightful bit of faux-Irish fiddle-de-dee about meeting an attractive young lady in the titular city – uillean pipes, “one more Guinness and kiss so sweet” etc – that you would compare to Ed Sheeran’s Galway Girl were it not for the fact that it makes Galway Girl sound as edgy and feral as the Pogues in the era when Spider Stacy used to keep time on stage by repeatedly smashing himself over the head with a metal beer tray. It turns out to have been co-written by Ed Sheeran, information it’s a bit hard to know what to do with. It’s like going to see the Bootleg Beatles and discovering Paul McCartney’s taking the tickets."
Close-up of a stylus on a turntable playing a yellow vinyl record. The album sleeve is in the background.
A woman in a black outfit sits between two seated performers wearing black and white polka dot costumes with gold triangular details and masked headpieces
Album artwork for Johnny Cash: The Legend. A complication by Sun Records from 1970.
7” Copy of Happy Talk by Captain Sensible
Out-of-focus photo taken inside the Roundhouse. Red stage lighting, blurred audience and light trails obscure most details of the performance.
Out-of-focus photo taken inside the Roundhouse. Red stage lighting, blurred audience and light trails obscure most details of the performance.
A hand holds a Scritti Politti Cupid & Psyche 85 vinyl sleeve in front of a Prefab Sprout Steve McQueen record sleeve, with vertical wooden panelling in the background.
Large outdoor wall mural covered with a collage of hip-hop and R&B album covers, artist photos, social media screenshots and cultural references. Recognisable albums by artists including OutKast, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, DMX and The Fugees are arranged across a black-painted wall beneath leafy trees. A pavement and roadside parking signs run along the foreground.
Close-up of a record playing on a turntable, with the sleeve for Prefab Sprout’s Looking for Atlantis blurred in the background.
Composite image showing multiple vinyl variants of Paul McCartney’s The Boy of Dungeon Lane, including black, green, red, white, burgundy, pink, grey, blue splatter, picture disc, gold and other coloured editions. Credit: Image credit: beatlesblogger.com
Screenshot of a Reddit post showing a photograph of Pet Shop Boys members Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant posing with Axl Rose backstage in the early 1990s. Beneath the image is an interview excerpt in which Axl describes going from publicly disliking Pet Shop Boys to becoming an admirer of their music. He specifically praises My October Symphony and says there is something in common between that song and a track he was working on called November Rain.
Video of turntable playing Shall We Dance, a track on Malcolm McLaren & The Bootzilla Orchestra's 1989 album, Waltz Darling. The sleeve of the album can be seen in the shot.
Black-and-white promotional photo of Scritti Politti with Miles Davis, circa 1988. Miles Davis sits in the foreground wearing sunglasses and holding a trumpet, while the three band members stand behind him against a plain studio backdrop.
Two colourful 1980s compilation vinyl albums resting on a striped surface. In the foreground is Now That’s What I Call Music 4, featuring bright neon graphics, a pig wearing sunglasses and headphones, and artist names around the cover including Lionel Richie, Kim Wilde and U2. Behind it is The Hits Album, with a black-and-white spiral design, large pink lettering and artist panels featuring acts including Wham!, Prince and Cyndi Lauper. The records overlap slightly, creating a nostalgic retro music display.
A close-up, angled photo of part of a drinks menu behind reflective glass. Visible text includes “CIDER” and “IPA” headings, with items such as “Camden Pale” and “Camden Off-Menu” alongside prices including £7.90, £8.00 and £7.70.
A hand holds the sleeve of a worn 7-inch vinyl single, Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) by Scritti Politti, beside a turntable playing the record. The sleeve has a sepia-toned design with a clock graphic and photo panels, while the black vinyl spins on the turntable below in bright natural light.
Audio-Technica’s Sound Burger portable turntable plays the yellow vinyl edition of Small Talk by Soda Blonde. In the background, the album sleeve shows a stylised retro kitchen scene with a woman pouring tea onto a yellow table while a man reads a newspaper and two children sit nearby. Warm pink and amber lighting, combined with the wood-panelled wall, give the image a cinematic 1970s atmosphere.
Minimalist album cover with large lowercase text reading “love is blue: essential instrumentals” in blue and pink on a light grey background. Beneath, bold red text shows “1962 ▶ 2013,” indicating the span of the compilation. No imagery, just clean, modern typography.
Cover of Studio One Rockers (Soul Jazz, 2001). Black-and-white photo of a seated man playing bass guitar, with another young man standing nearby watching him. Audio: “Crabwalking” by Prince Jazzbo, a deejay version of Skylarking by Horace Andy.
The first image shows the front cover of NOW Yearbook 80–84: The Final Chapter. The design is clean and glossy, dominated by a metallic gold and cream palette. In the centre is a large, embossed “NOW Yearbook 80–84” logo, styled like polished chrome with reflective highlights. Above it, smaller text reads “The Final Chapter.” A thin rainbow stripe runs along the bottom edge, referencing the classic NOW branding. To the right of the sleeve, three translucent gold vinyl records are partially visible, stacked slightly offset to show coloured centre labels.
A close-up of a music magazine cover laid on a grey herringbone fabric surface. The cover features a black-and-white photo of four young men, The Smiths, standing against a brick wall. Large bold text reads “UNCUT,” with a headline highlighting Ringo Starr and a quote about a long road. Another prominent line says, “What we created was magical,” referring to The Smiths, with “SMITHS at 40” in large pink lettering. A sticker-style badge mentions “183 reviews” and lists artists including Aldous Harding, Kevin Morby, Fountains D.C., and Kraftwerk. The overall design uses a mix of white, pink, and yellow typography on a dark background.
Black album cover with a glossy, metallic green logo reading “VAULT ’85” centred. A small “NOW Yearbook” label sits in the top left. Behind the sleeve, multiple translucent neon-green vinyl records are fanned out, creating a layered effect.
Album cover for Songs to Remember by Scritti Politti. A minimalist white background with the artist name and album title written in elegant gold script near the top, separated by a thin horizontal line. A small embossed insect-like logo appears in the bottom right corner.
A square, orange-covered book titled “Pet Shop Boys Volume: The Complete Visual Record” sits centered on a small round blue table. The cover features a stylized black-and-orange photograph of two men, one seated in front with a neutral expression, and another standing behind wearing a cap and striped shirt, arms raised behind his head and reflective sunglasses. Bright sunlight casts strong shadows across the table and highlights the texture of the surface.
Sibgle cover featuring the title Deep in Vogue by Malcolm McLaren. Four silhouetted figures pose in expressive dance positions against a pale background, evoking vogueing and club culture. The artist’s name appears in large serif lettering at the top, with the title in a band beneath it.
Wide view of a canal on a clear sunny day, with calm water reflecting blue sky and trees. On the left bank, a busy walkway is lined with people sitting, walking, and socialising along the edge. Early spring trees include bare branches and large weeping willows with fresh green foliage. Residential buildings rise behind the trees. On the right, a narrowboat is moored along the canal, and an old industrial chimney stands in the background. The scene feels lively and relaxed, with strong sunlight and sharp shadows.
A collage of five album covers arranged on a pale background with the text “85–89” in bold black. The largest image is 3 Feet High and Rising by De La Soul, featuring a bright yellow background with colourful flowers and the band members’ faces arranged in a circle. To the right is Please by Pet Shop Boys, shown as a minimal white cover with small portraits near the centre. Below that is Floating Into the Night by Julee Cruise, with a small pink floating female figure against a dark background. At the bottom left is Zazu by Rosie Vela, a black-and-white portrait of Vela with voluminous hair. At the bottom right is March by Michael Penn, featuring an ornate, classical-style illustration with a central title panel.
White text on a bright orange background displaying a quote: “Graphic design ordered the image. Menswear ordered the body. Together they enabled Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe to appear in public without ever quite giving themselves away.” Below, the attribution reads: Andrew Groves, Pet Shop Boys: Holding the Body at a Distance, with the URL profandrewgroves.substack.com at the bottom.
Hand holding a vinyl record sleeve titled Dolores Keane with a gold “70 – Celebrating Seventy Years” emblem on the cover. The artwork shows a profile portrait of Irish folk singer Dolores Keane against a dark, textured background. She has long reddish-brown hair and looks to the right. The photo is taken indoors, with an orange chair and part of a modern room visible in the background.
Cover of Smash Hits magazine (25 February to 10 March 1987). The masthead “SMASH HITS” appears in large white letters across the top. The cover photo shows Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys wearing a black cowboy hat and a checked shirt, leaning on a desk while holding a cream-coloured telephone handset to his ear. In front of him sits a vintage typewriter with scattered items including sunglasses, papers and magazines. Text on the cover reads: “Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys edits Smash Hits!?” A banner near the top advertises posters of Bangles, Madonna and Curiosity Killed the Cat. Other cover lines mention artists including Eurythmics, Billy Idol, A-ha, Cutting Crew, Freddie Mercury, Beastie Boys, Style Council, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Heavy Metal.
Television broadcast scoreboard from a rugby match showing France (FRA) 38 – England (ENG) 39 with 57:34 elapsed on the game clock. The graphic includes yellow “BP” icons above both teams’ scores, indicating bonus points. Part of the stadium background and players at the edge of the frame are visible below the scoreboard.
A newspaper clipping containing a humorous explanation of rugby rules. “■ Guten Tag. I am in Cork for three months and see that everyone is watching the Rugby World Cup. Can you explain the rules? – Karl, Berlin Here is my understanding of how it works. The fat guys all run into each other, while the slightly slimmer guys stand in a line watching them. Eventually the fat guys get tired and have a lie down on top of each other. The ball comes out the back of this lie down and the skinnier guys kick it back and forward to each other for half an hour. Then the fat guys wake up and start running into each other again. Every now and again the referee stops play because someone dropped the ball. That’s the only thing you are not allowed to do in rugby. Everything else would appear to be okay. Sometimes one group of fat guys pushes the other group over the line and there is some manly hugging, but no shifting like in soccer. After 80 minutes they add up the score and New Zealand wins.”
Close-up of an orange 7-inch vinyl record label reading “CRC” at the top and “Men Behind the Wire (Pat McGuigan) – Barley Corn.” The label notes “Issued by The Andersonstown Civil Resistance Committee,” dated 1971, with catalogue number CRC.71 and “A Side.” The centre hole is slightly worn and the black vinyl grooves surround the bright orange label.
Stack of three colourful 33⅓ music books on a glossy black surface: Blackout by Natasha Lasky (yellow and red spine, No. 187) on top, Carrie & Lowell by Joel Mayward (light blue spine, No. 198) in the middle, and Donny Hathaway Live by Emily J. Lordi (red spine, No. 117) on the bottom, with their reflections visible.
Album cover for Voodoo-Party by James Last. Against a black background with flames rising along the sides, a brightly coloured, fantastical mask-like sculpture dominates the centre. The object resembles a dragon or mythical creature with large round eyes, pointed teeth, horns, wings, and ornate metallic details in red, gold, and blue. Two small dragon heads sit above the main figure. The title “Voodoo-Party” appears in colourful retro lettering beneath the artist’s name at the top, and the Polydor Records logo appears in the lower left corner.
Square vinyl record sleeve resting on a side-table. The cover shows a young boy running through shallow seawater on a misty beach, with mountains faintly visible in the background. The image has soft pastel tones of blue, grey, and white. Minimal white lettering spelling “H E L P (2)” appears spaced out in the upper right area of the sleeve.