ISSUE 1040 INTERVIEWS INC: James Taylor Quartet, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Oscar Jerome, Judith Hill, Tami and FYI Chris.  
 
ARTICLE: The 20 best live shows in 2018.
 
LIVE REVIEWS: Lauryn Hill, 20th-anniversary “Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill”, London’s O2. Leon Bridges, O2 Academy Brixton. Chronixx and Protoje, Alexandra Palace, London. Noel McCalla & The Derek Nash Band at PizzaExpress, Holborn, London and finally Pete Tong with Jules Buckley & The Heritage Orchestra at the O2 Arena, London.
 
 
CHARTS: B&S Hot Chart (features the biggest tunes of the moment across many genres), Smoove Grooves R&B chart, Grooveyard Essentials Dance Chart and Richard Searling lists the best 'only available on album' Northern Soul tracks.
 
B&S COLUMNISTS THIS ISSUE: Richard Searling (Northern Soul) look back at 2018 and highlights 2019 events. Ralph Tee (Modern Soul) features the best soul artists/releases in 2018 and forecasts who to look out for in 2019. Ben Lovet (Dance) drops his top 5 dance singles, albums and events in 2018 and picks his top 5 to watch for in 2019. Bigger (R&B) awards the best R&B tracks and artists in 2018 and looks forward to some fine releases in 2019. Lastly, Frank Elson recalls one of the best books ever written on Northern Soul and explains why it's still so special.