Plus: Experimental, sensual and political, D’Angelo radically redrew the boundaries of soul music

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Picks of the week
Musician Beverly Glenn-Copeland on trans rights, cult stardom and living with dementia
‘What I do with my body is none of your business’  
Musician Beverly Glenn-Copeland on trans rights, cult stardom and living with dementia
His music was ignored for decades. Now, at 81, he is collaborating with pop stars. He and his wife talk about his extraordinary life – and facing severe illness
The reader interview  
Pop-rock wizard Todd Rundgren: ‘When I met John Lennon, he was a bundle of rags with nothing to say’
Experimental, sensual and political, D’Angelo radically redrew the boundaries of soul music
Alexis Petridis
‘We’re ripping ourselves to shreds’  
With dance music bitterly divided, how far should cultural boycotts go?
Without Ace Frehley, Kiss could not have achieved their extraordinary greatness
Michael Hann
‘Chuck was breaking beer bottles over his own head’  
Thrash metal legends Testament on 40 years of mayhem
Reviews
Alexis Petridis's album of the week  
Tame Impala: Deadbeat – ‘bush doof’ bangers can’t hide how downbeat Kevin Parker seems to be
Tame Impala: Deadbeat – ‘bush doof’ bangers can’t hide how downbeat Kevin Parker seems to be
Album review  
The Last Dinner Party: From the Pyre – baroque’n’roll band’s speedily released second album is overheated
Jazz album of the month  
Sebastian Rochford: Finding Ways – Polar Bear drummer’s strikingly varied quest into the aftermath of grief
Book review  
Rumours of My Demise by Evan Dando – eye-popping tales of drugs and unpredictability
Album review  
Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition – fabled album falls short of expectations
 

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Spotlight
Sam Fender didn’t need his Mercury prize win – but he earned it with his incisive social realism
Mercury prize  
Sam Fender didn’t need his Mercury prize win – but he earned it with his incisive social realism
Alexis Petridis
Maybe they should have given the award to an album that wasn’t already a huge hit – but Fender’s blend of kitchen-sink drama and stadium choruses is expertly done
Classical
Classical album of the week  
Hugh Cutting: Refound – an idiosyncratic and profoundly satisfying collection
Hugh Cutting: Refound – an idiosyncratic and profoundly satisfying collection
Opera review  
La Bohème – noirish reframing of Puccini’s classic weepy
La Bohème – noirish reframing of Puccini’s classic weepy
News  
Gramophone classical music awards honour Simon Rattle for a second time; Raphaël Pichon’s Bach takes top prize
Gramophone classical music awards honour Simon Rattle for a second time; Raphaël Pichon’s Bach takes top prize
Opera review  
Albert Herring – ENO heralds new era with witty staging of Britten’s story of a mummy’s boy
Albert Herring – ENO heralds new era with witty staging of Britten’s story of a mummy’s boy