In August, 95-year-old American composer George Walker had his first-ever piece performed at the Proms, as part of a concert that became the breakout story of the festival. In his own way, he’s as radical and pioneering as Nina Simone, who was famously refused entry to the same music school that Walker had already graduated from
More from those heroic folk at the Rock's Backpages archive. This time, Robert Sandall interviews Robert Smith of The Cure in 1989 about their landmark album, Disintegration. Live shots by Maria Jefferis/Shot2bits.net