DAVIDBOWIE: ALBUMTOALBUM

Latest Episodes:

S3 Ep7: Stuart Maconie on Diamond Dogs Part 2 Mar 31, 2020

Show notes

"This is not the end. This is not the beginning of the end. But it is the end of the beginning." Winston Churchill could have been talking about this episode of Albumtoalbum, in which Stuart and I continue our deep dive into the world of Bowie's* Diamond Dogs and conclude the first part of our chipper chat session. In this handy, pocket-sized episode, we marvel at Sweet Thing/Candidate and Rebel Rebel, via Bowie's eyepatch, John Lennon, Alvin Stardust and a choice of Germanic influence - 1920s Berlin Cabaret or pounding krautrock?
*Have you noticed how, in 1974, it was just "Bowie"?

S3 Ep6: Stuart Maconie on Diamond Dogs Part 1 Mar 24, 2020

Show notes

In the year of the Diamond Dogs... while the zombie peoploids were crawling through Hunger City yowling with rage, a cheerful 13 year old lad in Wigan encountered Bowie's chilling, thrilling 'Diamond Dogs' LP. Today, Stuart Maconie, BBC DJ, critic and author joins me for a wonderfully rambling and enjoyable chat about all things Diamond Dogs. In this first episode, as well as recalling those halcyon days of the mid 1970s (and indeed they were halcyon, according to his new book The Nanny State Made Me), we delve deep into the mid 70s world of Bowie, the rise and fall of glam, debate the Rolling Stones, why Jagger and Bowie fell out, what Paul McCartney told Stuart when he asked him about a legendary outtake, why Alan McGee inspired the 'Exactly!' game, more about Diamond Dogs, Brownie and Nidge and wonder why poor old Hallowe'en Jack only gets one line to himself. I hope you enjoy and of course, check out Stuart on BBC6 where his Freakzone show is a reliably magical pot pourri of esoteric sounds from distant shores and look out for his fantastic new book The Nanny State Made Me: A Story Of Britain And How To Save It here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nanny-State-Me-Stuart-Maconie/dp/1529102413/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SFWPCJLJB1A6&keywords=stuart+maconie&qid=1585055403&sprefix=Stuart+%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-1

S3 Ep5: Nicholas Pegg on 1.Outside Part 3 Mar 20, 2020

Show notes

The final part of our king-sized 'Outside' chat with the MC of DB, Nicholas Pegg sweeps us up in a torrent of facts, trivia, analysis and architecture and morality. We push to the close of our investigation into this esoteric masterpiece and ask the important questions of the day including whether Oxford is actually a town or city, what track would make Bowie duck onstage when he played it live and the album's pleasing ability to be played in any old way you like. Join us!
Don't forget the previous two episodes here:
Part 1: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/3-nicholas-pegg-on-1-outside/id1355073030?i=1000458374296 Part 2: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/4-nicholas-pegg-on-1-outside-part-2/id1355073030?i=1000461718001

S3 Ep4: Nicholas Pegg on 1. Outside Part 2 Jan 06, 2020

Show notes

Spongebob Squarepants, Scott Walker, Eno, murder, murder, madness, the Pet Shop Boys, Algeria Touchshriek, Noah and Nelly, death, millennial angst and one of Bowie's finest albums, yes it's more from the dark, dangerous world of Outside, with the one and only Nicholas Pegg.

S3 Ep3: Nicholas Pegg on 1.Outside Dec 01, 2019

Show notes

Released in September 1995, 1. Outside (The diary of Nathan Adler or the art-ritual murder of Baby Grace Blue: A non-linear Gothic Drama Hyper-cycle), was [Wikipedia says] "set in 1999, in which the government, through its arts commission, had created a new bureau to investigate the phenomenon of Art Crime".
How disappointing that 1999 in fact, just brought us "...hours" instead.
Anyway, 1. Outside was intended as the first in a series of releases intended to articulate a sense of dystopian tension in the air as we hurtled towards 2000. It was a return to the sort of scabrous sounds and scary monsters of 1980, much to the joy of the Bowie hardcore but given it was issued during the blearily sunny era of Britpop, the album befuddled many, not least the fiercely savage music press of the time (remember them?) who savaged the strange suite of songs, set amidst experimental collages of spoken word fragments and featuring some of Bowie's most abrasive music in ages.
Having reunited with Mr B. Eno, Mr R Gabrels and Mr E Kizilcay, Bowie allowed his imagination to run riot, indulging his newly reignited love of contemporary art, sci fi and electronica in a startlingly original statement that stands up to repeated investigation to this day.

S3 Ep2: Alan Johnson on Hunky Dory Oct 14, 2019

Show notes

WELCOME TO THE NEW episode of Album To Album in which we meet former Labour Home Secretary and award-winning memoirist Alan Johnson, former MP for Hull West and Hessel. We met recently in his Hull offices – ‘in Spiders From Mars land!’ as he proudly informs me - to reminisce about Hunky Dory, the 1971 LP which ch-ch-changed everything, not only for Bowie, but for legions of young rock’n’rollers. In the course of course of our chat, Alan recalls his days as a shelf stacker and postman in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a new father inspired by ‘Kooks’, a songwriter in love with ‘Life On Mars’ and a fan besotted with ‘Changes’. Along the way, we touch on Alan’s other great musical love, The Beatles, the mood and atmosphere of the early 1970s and Alan even sings one of his own songs. “It really is a remarkable record,” says Alan of Hunky Dory “And it’s an album as a whole. You can’t really think of Changes without morphing into Oh You Pretty Things, Life On Mars, Kooks – it’s all of a piece.” Thank you as ever for listening and if you enjoy this episode, please do share and review. If you would like to buy us a drink, we have a Patreon account under ‘albumtoalbum’ where all donations are very welcome indeed. And please do check out Alan’s site at www.alanjohnsonbooks.co.uk where you’ll find details of his current tour of the UK, reading from his music memoir ‘In My Life”. And Alan’s three award-winning instalments of his autobiography are all available from amazon.co.uk And if you want to hear Alan’s Spotify playlist to accompany 'In My Life', check it out here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4yds4L2hR0j5etsDtRHcpc
https://alanjohnsonbooks.co.uk/in-my-life/

S2 Ep11: Samira Ahmed on Space Oddity - part 2 Oct 05, 2019

Show notes

The long-delayed and oft-promised second part of my two-parter on 'Space Oddity' with Samira Ahmed is finally here, almost 50 years to the month after Part 1. It covers not only the latter half of Bowie's 1969 LP, but veers across a number of topics as we trudge through the dampened grass to approach the summer's end. Tall Venusians will be passing through. I hope you enjoy this - and don't forget to warm up with Part One: https://audioboom.com/channels/4948081.rss

S2 Ep10: Samira Ahmed on Space Oddity - Part 1 Feb 22, 2019

Show notes

It's back to 1969, and a repeat appearance on Albumtoalbum for Space Oddity, the second full-length Bowie LP and with me to discuss all things Oddity-esque is BBC Radio 4 presenter and journalist Samira Ahmed. In this revealing chat - again, a here a two-parter - Samira explains her love of Bowie, her particular love of this album, the influence it had on her as a young Asian child growing up in 1970s Britain and the effect it had on her peers - something she documented to fascinating effect on her Radio 4 programme "I Dressed Ziggy Stardust" in which a number of Asian women recounted their experiences of Bowie's music and style impacting on their lives. As well as that, Samira takes us on a tour through the first half of this landmark record, throwing in plenty of piquant observations, fascinating facts and insights into what made Bowie someone who "got inside my brain and messed with it - in the most wonderful way"

Follow us on Instagram @albumtoalbum, Facebook and Apple Podcasts and do leave a review and share if so inclined! Thanks as ever for your feedback and love, it means a great deal.

You can check out Samira's programme here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r91qk

S2 Ep9: Nicholas Pegg on Heathen - Part Two Jan 22, 2019

Show notes

A multi-million selling critical smash, laden with inventiveness, melody, reflection and profoundly questioning lyrics, 'Heathen' was the album everyone was waiting for, back in 2002. As Nick Pegg and I discover, during the course of this second part of our megachat, 'Heathen' touches on many facets of Bowie's artistry over the years. It revisits familiar themes of mortality, angst, identity and God ("Come on God, buck up!") alongside perhaps some of the best music of Bowie's 2000s. Older, wiser and more comfortable in himself, Bowie could address an intransigent Higher Being and rock out exuberant Pixies covers or indeed, pay homage to the Legendary Stardust Cowboy with equal aplomb and conviction. Tony Visconti was back on board for the first time since 1980 (maybe prompting all those "best LP since Scary Monsters" accolades?) and the resulting album is definitely worthy of Visconti's heartfelt tribute, Bowie's 'magnum opus'.

Thanks as ever for listening and getting in touch with me with your thoughts on our discussions. If I could ask a favour - please do share and spread the podcast as much as possible! Thanks x

S2 Ep8: Nicholas Pegg on Heathen Jan 08, 2019

Show notes

We're back! Happy new year and a very happy birthday David Bowie... In this episode - the first in another two-parter - Bowie biographer and solid superstar Nick Pegg dissects the rich, complex tapestry of Bowie's 2002 magnum opus 'Heathen'. An album brimming with imagery, profundity, magisterial ambition and beautiful music it's amongst the very best of the canon. In this two-part episode, recorded in a subterranean cell in South London, Nick holds forth in typically entertaining manner, with erudition, insight and plenty of digressions along the way.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected