Music journalism is full of passionate characters, but my friend and former colleague James McMahon, who has died aged 44 after being diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma (a rare form of cancer), could give them all a run for their money.

He was passionate about the bands he liked – often scrappy, DIY ones with a fanbase you could count on both hands. And he was passionate about how the press should cover them. But he was also passionate about much more than music: Doncaster Rovers, zombie movies, Wrestlemania, true crime stories, UFOs, comic books … the list was long.