Scream called out

When it was announced on Monday that Mancunian singer Denise Johnson had died, there was an immediate outpouring of grief and tributes to her as both a performer and a person on social media. Conspicuous by its absence was any response from the band with which she is most closely associated, Primal Scream, despite the fact that she was a member for several years and made a significant contribution to Screamadelica.

When the tribute finally did come, a full day later, it struck many people as lacking the warmth that might have been expected. However, Terry Christian - yes, that Terry Christian - was moved to more than mere bafflement, launching an entertainingly vicious offensive against the band for the tone of the message and the way they treated his friend: "Luke warm bullshit. You fucked her over like the money grubbing snides you were. Gillespie couldn't even look her in the eye in London 18 months ago. Without her you're just a 2nd rate pub rock outfit ... not even shit on her shoes." Ouch.

The only problem with his argument, though, is that Primal Scream were "a 2nd rate pub rock outfit" even on an album that featured Johnson's vocals (Give Out But Don't Give Up)...