Word In Your Ear

Latest Episodes:

Jarvis v Jacko and why drummers are like goalkeepers. Let Pulp’s Nick Banks be your guide Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

Nick Banks - nephew of the great Gordon Banks – saw a note pinned by his favourite band to a wall in 1986, his Sliding Doors moment: ‘Pulp Want Drummer. Call Russell or Jarvis’. What happened next he records in his memoir ‘It Started There: From Punk To Pulp’. We talk to him about life in Sheffield in the ‘70s and ‘80 and why it took 15 long years for Pulp to crack it. Among the highlights …

… why punk rock was like “Harry Potter’s Sorting Hat”.

… what drummers bring to groups.

… Pulp’s stage act in 1982 – “trombones, backing singers, orange paper fish”.

… being denied a Number One by Robson & Jerome.

… the band’s response to Jarvis Cocker’s brave new direction – “Barry White meets the Pet Shop Boys”.

… what happened at the BRITS and who’s to blame.

… real life in what promised to be “the gilded palace of stardom with limousines and dancing girls”.

… the moment that caused “the raised eyebrows of disdain” in the Pulp story.

… and his first sighting of “that mesmerising, bespectacled, lanky streak of piss”.

Order Nick’s memoir here …

https://www.amazon.co.uk/So-Started-There-Punk-Pulp/dp/1915841100

Get your exclusive NordVPN deal here: https://nordvpn.com/yourear

It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee!

Tickets for Word In Your Ear live at 21Soho on October 30th here: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/ZOthfatjxi

Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Smoking on album sleeves, Smash Hits The Musical and records you own but have never played Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

Engaging blips on the rock and roll radar this week include:-

… Iron Maiden album title or novel by Jeffrey Archer?

… selling Ringo’s ashtray.

… the Blood Doner: the Hancock script that keeps on giving.

… “Terrible album title. Terrible album cover, too.” The start of Rolling Stone’s review of which immortal record?

… how come acting runs in families but writing and music don’t?

… Smash Hits: the Musical - you heard it here first. And why the Live Aid musical will work.

… A Salty Dog, Shades, Smokin’ OP’s – album sleeves based on fag packets.

… the curious tale of the Equinox and the imposters on their album cover.

… which pop stars are in the Barbie doll range?

… why smoking is part of the DNA of rock and roll. And who smoked what? Bob Hope (Chesterfield), Lennon (Woodbines), Bowie (Gauloises) …

… the significance of Weaver D’s Delicious Fine Foods of Atlanta, Georgia.

… and musicians who outsold their famous parents.

Plus birthday guests: Matthew Elliott on records you own but have never played, and Phil Turner “the Elton John album so bad it put me off him for 20 years.”

Tickets for Word In Your Ear live at 21 Soho on October 30th here: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/ysY3FvyFae

Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Echo & the Bunnymen, why the rock press were “divs” and the secret of good hair by Will Sergeant Oct 08, 2023

Show notes

Will Sergeant’s just put out the second volume of his memoirs, both of them Sunday Times best-sellers, Echoes and the first edition, Bunnyman. Here he revisits the Liverpool of the ‘60s and ‘70s in extraordinary detail - the clothes, the records, the gangs, the school days, the early shows he saw - and the many reasons he wanted to form a band. On the agenda …

… ‘rockist’ cliches the Bunnymen detested.

… why America loved early ‘80s British groups.

… the powerful appeal of Jethro Tull, Status Quo, Slade, Roxy Music, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and rock and roll theatre.

… clothes bought from NME small ads in the ‘70s.

… absurd rivalries with Simple Minds and the Jesus & Mary Chain.

… fond memories of David Thomas of Pere Ubu smashing a pig iron spike with a lump hammer.

… the ‘Porcupine’ cover shoot in Iceland.

… the charisma of the teenage Mac McCulloch.

… bands that borrowed from the Bunnymen.

… why the Ramones were “Status Quo with drainpipes”.

… and the magic ingredient that held Mac’s hair aloft.

Order Bunnyman here …

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bunnyman-Memoir-Sunday-Times-bestseller/dp/1472135032

And Echoes here …

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Echoes-memoir-continued/dp/1408719304

Tickets for Word In Your Ear live at 21 Soho on October 30th here: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/ysY3FvyFae

Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content here: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An Insider’s Guide To Goth by Cathi Unsworth (via Cruella De Vil and the Cure) Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

Crime novelist Cathi Unsworth turned Goth in her teens in rural Norfolk fired by a cocktail of Dennis Wheatley, the Damned on the Peel show and the dark arts of the York Festival “Gothtopia” bill in 1984. She devoted long hours to trying to construct Robert Smith’s “tarantula hair” and acquiring black lace garmentry. Something about its music and folklore chimed with a life marooned in the middle of an East Anglian beanfield pondering tales of Shuck, the fabled fire-eyed ghostly hound alleged to roam the neighbourhood at night. We talked to her about her marvellous ‘Season of the Witch: the Book of Goth’ for a live podcast recorded at London’s 21Soho on 25 September, a very funny and wide-ranging exchange that included …

… why Goth is like no other tribe: you never make a full recovery – or ever want to.

… the part played in its family tree by Aleister Crowley, Aubrey Beardsley, the Brontes, Joy Division, Magazine, the Cramps, Jim Morrison and Bobby Gentry.

… why Leeds became one of Goth’s key spiritual centres.

… the shocking spectacle of Dave Vanian in full Stygian rig in broad daylight.

… “the three Goth Ians” - Astbury, Curtis, McCulloch.

… the significance of Cabaret and A Clockwork Orange.

... why Goths feel obliged to dress the part.

… the romantic allure of Robert Smith against that of Nick Cave.

… the curious link between Siouxsie and Margaret Thatcher.

… and how Goth keeps finding new recruits.

Order ‘Season of the Witch: the Book of Goth’ here …

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Season-Witch-Book-Cathi-Unsworth/dp/1788706242

Tickets for Word In Your Ear live at 21 Soho on October 30th here: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/ysY3FvyFae

Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Drake – a whole new perspective by Richard Morton Jack Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

Richard Morton Jack interviewed over 200 people when assembling what’s unquestionably the best, most colourful, comprehensive, revealing and accurate portrait of Nick Drake ever published. We talked to him about ‘Nick Drake: The Life’ at a live podcast recording at 21Soho on September 25 and explored various remote corners of this sad, surprising and eternally gripping story, among them ….

… the fate of the tape of the 20-year old Drake playing for the Stones in Morocco in 1969.

… what the press and public made of Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layer and Pink Moon when released and Joe Boyd’s reaction to their eventual success.

… the early school days of the head boy who won a cup for “General Efficiency”.

… his obsession with Francoise Hardy and the disastrous day he met her.

… the peaks and troughs of his live performances including the time he played an event for a Birmingham rugby team supporting Genesis (required to play the Hokey-Cokey).

… Kirstie Clegg, his on-off girlfriend from 1969.

… Drake’s uncelebrated fondness for TV sitcoms and Benny Hill.

… Peter Paul And Mary and other unlikely staples of his early repertoire.

… and the events that helped re-boot his legacy.

Order Richard’s highly recommended book here …

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nick-Drake-Richard-Morton-Jack/dp/1529308089

Tickets for Word In Your Ear live at 21 Soho on October 30th here: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/ysY3FvyFae

Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gary Numan, unlikely sex symbols and U2’s £1,000 night in the desert Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

Spice-filled items tossed into the conversational cooking-pot this week include:-

… our charming encounter with Gary Numan, possibly the world’s most contented man.

… the next step in the age of spectacle: the sensory bombardment of U2’s shows at the Las Vegas Sphere and the crippling cost of experiencing it.

… Taylor Swift’s genius for publicity and the subtle art of connecting with “Joe Six-Pack”.

… the shockingly unwise and unfathomable pronouncements of Roger Waters and how his fall-out with David Gilmour makes Lennon’s ‘How Do You Sleep?’ seem like a love letter.

… pop stars and their hair transplants.

… what do bands think of their tribute acts?

.. the ‘Austin Powers’ albums of David McCallum, a star so huge he needed a police motorcade.

… Hugh Laurie, James Gandolfini, Carrie Fisher, Colin Firth, Felicity Kendal and others whose TV roles made them sex symbols.

… and do rock stars really change people’s political views?

Tickets for Word In Your Ear live at 21 Soho on October 30th here: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/ysY3FvyFae

Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does Gary Numan regret throwing the glo-stick that hit David Bowie? Oct 01, 2023

Show notes

Gary Numan is about to set out on a UK acoustic tour, some of it in churches and one date in a cathedral. He talks here - from the Scottish estate house he’s just bought – about some of the first shows he saw and what he’s learnt about live performance. This includes ...

… the peculiar effect of seeing Nazareth at the Rainbow in 1973.

… the fate of the £5 note he’d asked Queen to autograph.

… why he doesn’t talk onstage, and why that’s about to change.

… what musicians take for granted.

… the church that insisted on his lyrics before they let him perform there.

… what happened when he dodged the security for Bowie at Wembley Arena.

.. what’s involved in creating a “relentless” live act.

… a fondness for the Monkees and Marc Bolan and the secret of his 1981 Bogart hat.

Gary Numan’s tour dates here ..

https://garynuman.com/tours/

Tickets for Word In Your Ear live at 21 Soho on October 30th here: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/ysY3FvyFae

Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why a sumptuous new book about the Island label is “like entering the record shop of your dreams”. Sep 27, 2023

Show notes

Neil Storey is an old pal from our magazine days who worked in the press office at Island. He looked after U2, Bob Marley, Steel Pulse, the B-52’s and many others. About 15 years ago he began the mammoth task of compiling a series of books telling the story of virtually every record the label released in its pioneering history, tracking down and talking to all those involved - musicians, producers, designers, photographers, label staff – and collecting old music press ads and ephemera from the time. The book’s almost a foot square so LP sleeves can be reproduced ‘actual size’. The first volume is just out, The Island Book Of Records 1959-1968, a thing of very great beauty. As David says, “it’s like entering the record shop of your dreams.” We talked to Neil at his home in France about this and much else besides …

… Chris Blackwell’s involvement in the making of Dr No and the single Jamaican beach shot that told them they had a hit movie.

… the album they released that no-one involved could remember.

… Shotgun Wedding by Roy ‘C’, Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, Lance Hayward, Millie Small’s ‘My Boy Lollipop’ …

… the letter Blackwell sent to the workshy Spooky Tooth with threats of wage deductions.

… the lucrative ascent of Jethro Tull.

… the little-known compilations of Rugby songs, ‘Bawdy British Ballads’ and risqué adult comedy that “saved the label’s bacon” in the mid-‘60s.

… the time Neil stumbled across Traffic’s fabled Aston Tirrold cottage on a school camping trip.

… the highly collectable “Birth of Ska’ album that was never released.

… one immortal week at the Marquee Club.

… and why Island were banned for Olympic Studios.

Order the Island Book of Records Vol 1 here …

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/product/neil-storey/the-island-book-of-records-volume-i-1959-68?channable=409d926964003230353632383608&gclid=Cj0KCQjw06-oBhC6ARIsAGuzdw1pbKtxLGkjgkiJfcAll84H65dVQ1r_h7obky-QWlVtpr21UgiQP54aAk1BEALw_wcB#hardback-signed-plus

Tickets for Word In Your Ear live at 21 Soho on October 30th here: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/ysY3FvyFae

Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyouear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mojo’s 30th birthday plus bands whose t-shirts you’d wear even if you didn’t have any of their records Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

Both of us were involved in the launch of Mojo 30 years ago in the autumn of 1993 and we dug out our copies of the first issue. As editor Paul Du Noyer said on page 3, it was “our confirmed intention to pitch a wang-dang-doodle – all night long, if necessary.” The cover story was about a sequence from Eat The Document, the film by DA Pennebaker of Bob Dylan’s ’66 tour that was never released and could only be seen on bootleg VHS cassettes. And this bit was so rare and controversial it had even been deleted from most of the bootlegs - none more niche! – and featured Dylan and John Lennon’s stoned ramblings in a black cab after Bob had played the Albert Hall in May ‘66. The piece by Richard Williams also focused on 10 days in the life of Dylan and the Beatles at the time, the kind of specific, deep-end trawl that helped start a whole new wing of rock book publishing. You can see the seeds of the emerging ‘heritage rock’ in that first edition too. Mojo have a wonderful 30th anniversary issue out now, by the way.

Further logs on this week’s conversational fire include …

.. why people buy ‘vinyls’ when they don’t own a record player.

… David’s story about the HMV security guard who built a shrine to James Last.

… the brilliant – and fiercely competitive - mixtapes made and played in music magazines offices.

... the dreadful allegations about Russell Brand and the media rush to cut ties with him.

… the band t-shirt favoured by well-heeled businessmen to signify they were once a ‘wild card’.

… the Clones Roses, A Band Called Malice … the Dutiful South?

… mentioned in despatches: Cat Mother and The All Night Newsboys.

… and birthday guest Steve Way on the avenues of discovery encouraged by his love of Paul Weller (including the ruinous pursuit of being a Blue Note completist).

Ps Dizzying pop facts: go back 30 years from the launch of Mojo and it’s ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’. There are copies of that first issue on eBay for £44.99 amazingly.

Get your exclusive NordVPN deal here: https://nordvpn.com/yourear

It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee.

Tickets for Word In Your Ear live at 21 Soho on October 30th here: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/ysY3FvyFae

Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The “unknown woman” in McCartney’s photos, the Human League and a new U2 game Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

This week’s pod was recorded just after we saw ‘Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm’ at London’s National Portrait Gallery, a warm and winning show that starts with him as a wide-eyed fan trying to take pictures of his heroes and soon switches to his shots of the whole world trying to photograph him. We talk about his pictures of French jazzers, Paris boulevards, backstage rooms at TV shows, models, paparazzi, light entertainment stars, screaming fans, American police guns, Miami beaches, billboards, views from plane windows, hotel rooms, cocktails and a New York theatre showing “Christine Keeler Goes Nudist plus Playgirls”. And wonder how it feels to discover 60 years later you had your photo taken by a Beatle.

PLUS …

… the top-flight rock and roll star we passed in Soho.

… the record David tries every year to force himself to like.

… the wonderful Geoff Davies of Probe Records, the much-loved Liverpool figurehead who signed the Farm and Half Man Half Biscuit.

… bands who’ve had the most members.

… ‘Norman Wisdom, Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, good times”. What’s not to love about the Human League’s Dare?

… the new U2 parlour game.

… why CDs sales are on the up.

… and what the police would know about you if they found your phone.

Tickets for Word In Your Ear live at 21Soho on September 25th here: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/1SwIYJWoHK

Get your exclusive NordVPN deal here - it's risk-free with Nord's 30-day-money-back guarantee!: https://nordvpn.com/yourear

Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected