Word Podcast

Old pal Owen Parker on Street Life, Message In A Bottle, Superstition and other recordings that accelerate and the nightmarish complexity of playing stadiums to a click-track. Plus we predict the fate of CDs, invent 'record collection wallpaper' and look at Vertigo label landfill prog bands and the songs of John Shuttleworth. If you'd like to receive this - and indeed every future - Word podcast before the rest of the world, plus a veritable treasure trove of other benefits, make sure you sign up to our marvellous Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Mark Ellen talks to David Hepworth about his new book "Overpaid, Oversexed and Over There" which describes how British imitations came out from under the shadow of American originators in the early 60s, how a handful of acts from the UK went on to command the heights of the worldwide music industry, the things they learned, the things they taught and the transatlantic traffic in sounds and styles which led from the Beatles to Boy George. Also includes: the amazing story of the Dave Clark Five, the strange genius of the Animals, how the British invented the guitar hero, what the Stones learned in America, the bands that were built in the UK with the US in mind, why punk rock took years to detonate in America, the one thing that makes American music stars different from their British counterparts and the reason 2020 may turn out to be just like 1961.

In which we rope in a real musician – aka our producer Magic Alex – to discover why bands always play their big hits too fast (‘are you a dragger or a pusher?’), decode stage names (Perry Farrell, Lipps Inc, Fay Fife ...), delight in Trump’s recent campaign trail faux pas with John Fogerty’s Fortunate Son and remember pop exploitation films (Gonks Go Beat!) and ill-advised rock star advertising capers. If you'd like to receive this - and indeed every future - Word Podcast before the rest of the world, and if you so wish in full audio-visual glory, then make sure you're subscribed to our Patreon: https://www/patreon.com/wordinyourear

In which we dig out a Smash Hits from ‘79 (entirely written by D Hepworth), wonder if Ian Brown’s gone stir crazy, watch it kick off between Dylan and the Beatles (in ’66), navigate the enriching waters of NTS Radio, remember when Kevin and Perry went Mancunian and stage a stand-off between ‘60s folk revivalists and punning rock memoir titles (‘Kiss And Make-Up’ – Gene Simmons’; ‘I Did It Otway!’ etc). Smash Hits, Sept ‘79 https://www.flickr.com/photos/51106326@N00/sets/72157622155198859/ NTS Radio… https://www.nts.live/ If you'd like to receive this - and indeed every future - Word Podcast before the rest of the world, and in full audio-visual glory, please subscribe to the marvel that is the Word In Your Ear Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Author Justin Quirk on ‘the direct link between Kiss and Trump’. Writer and highly entertaining metal connoisseur Justin Quirk – the man behind Nothin’ But A Good Time: the Spectacular Rise and Fall of Glam Metal – on the age of big hair, frocks coats, cowboy boots and fabulously cartoonish stage acts that began with MTV in ’83, developed a ‘slow puncture’ with Guns N’Roses and was killed off by Nirvana in ‘91 - includes the WWF Wrestling connection, the ‘branding exercise and pyramid selling scheme’ of Kiss, the key role of Ozzy Osbourne (‘the world’s least convincing werewolf’), the Thiller-like construction of Def Leppard’s Hysteria, the highs of Wasp and Motley Crue, the lows of Tigertailz and Wrathchild, and Glam Metal’s last hurrah before the arrival of the age of irony. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nothin-But-Good-Time-Spectacular-ebook/dp/B08CGJN334 @justindquirk To be 'in the room' as these podcast interviews are recorded, subscribe to our brilliant Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

In which we're joined by our producer Magic Alex for a scenic tour of 'Landfill Indie' ("the Libertines were our Beatles!"), check the musicians incensed by Trump's use of their music, applaud the best wearers of Shorts In Pop (where Andrew Ridgeley meets Bob Weir), navigate the mob-handed hook-and-track systems of 21st Century songwriting, and invent fake psychobilly bands and rock star film cameos. If you'd like to receive this - and indeed every future - Word podcast before the rest of the world, and in full audio-visual splendour, subscribe to our frankly marvellous Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Author, renowned Beatles authority, 'Pop Professor' and old pal of the pod Kenneth Womack talks about 'John Lennon 1980: the Last Days In The Life', his riveting account of events in the Dakota and beyond. Things covered in fascinating detail: the fond and complex relationship with McCartney, the tangled friendship with Dylan, TV watched, stuff bought and sold, the return to the studio and not-so-secret recordings, the withering album reviews, the future plans and the trials of a life lived at this level of celebrity. @KennethAWomack https://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Lennon-1980-Last-Days/dp/1787601366 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Kenneth-Womack/s?rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AKenneth+Womack https://kennethwomack.com/

In which we look at Chris Frantz's memoir and its exasperated take on David Byrne (bang goes the Talking Heads reunion), revisit late '60s Laurel Canyon, unravel some Zappa album titles, marvel at brave new adventures in vinyl sales and how Freddie Mercury's teeth got the Pistols their big break, and get Hilary Mantel's tilt on Madonna ("the plain girl's revenge"). To receive this podcast - and every future one - before the rest of the world, and in glorious audio-visual splendour, subscribe to our frankly fantastic Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Writer and counter-cultural connoisseur Joe Banks joins us to talk about Hawkwind: Days Of The Underground, his sparkling account of the rise and 51 year trajectory of the unsung revolutionary heroes. All the following are entertainingly included - their 'creation myth' in the white heat of Ladbroke Grove and days as the house band of Radical Politics, the sci-fi adventure with Michael Moorcock and Robert Calvert, the Silver Machine saga, the pioneering rock theatre of Space Ritual, their roles in punk and Krautrock and the saucer-eyed cast members who've kept them "the alternative to the alternative". Key fact: Joe has a Labrador puppy called Lemmy. @JoeBanksWriter https://www.daysoftheunderground.com/ The famous Hawkwind clip that was shown on TOTP ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NysxdHSIs4I

In which we salute the game-changing inventions of the Stones, Kinks and Louis Armstrong, watch the song catalogue sales boom, wonder if the age of spectacle is over, spot the fake alt.country and dark metal bands and take a closer look at the Williams twins v Phil Collins. To receive this Word Podcast - and indeed all future ones - before the rest of the world, subscribe to our marvellous Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

In which we applaud the great rock and roll name changes (eg the late Wayne Fontana), get unsettled by 'Stan' culture and over-zealous Taylor Swift supporters, take the temperature of the Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, remember some footballers' hits and wonder how any rock star could be gauche enough to display their gold discs. To receive this - and every - Word Podcast ahead of the rest of the world, subscribe to our frankly marvellous Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

In which we we marvel at the Beatles' 12-song set 55 years ago (four of them covers), applaud a virtual gig in the Natural History Museum, ponder Alan Bennett and Ellen DeGeneres, wonder when musicians became "creative artists", spot the fake band (Canadian rock acts v 1972's 'Giants of Tomorrow'), and remember Fame, Bugsy Malone and the great Alan Parker. I'm Down at Shea Stadium ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6D11NTWwU Backstage at Shea Stadium ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QElpSMJiLv0 To receive this podcast before anyone else, subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Novelist David Mitchell on Utopia Avenue, his fictional account of life in a band (Sunday Times No 1 best-seller!) - plus Bucks Fizz at the Malvern Winter Gardens, the lure of Marillion, the effect of Abba on tooth enamel, "the high register vocabulary" of Rush, the novelistic tangles of the White Album and Tales From Topographic Oceans, and Bowie's piercing predictions about the internet in 1999 - plus "the Greatest Record Ever Made". @david_mitchell Utopia Avenue … https://www.amazon.co.uk/Utopia-Avenue-David-Mitchell/dp/1444799428 https://www.davidmitchellbooks.com/books/ Bowie talks to Jeremy Paxman about the internet … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiK7s_0tGsg Receive each Word Podcast before anybody else by subscribing to our brilliant Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

... 50 and 40 years ago this week! In which we salute the magnificent Peter Green (and hear Owen Parker's memories of recording with him in the '90s), look back at the great Q headlines - CarelessTalk Costs Wives! The Hoarse Foreman of the Apocalypse! - flick through a Melody Maker from 1970, spot the fake deejay, applaud the recent Springsteen radio shows and find Bob Marley & the Wailers photographed in lift. To receive this podcast early - and in full audio-visual glory - subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Live Aid's "2,000 million global audience": surely some mistake? In which we remember Lady Di rollerskating in Kensington Palace with Duran Duran on her Walkman, invent fake rap stars and Mod Revival bands, applaud the world's first DJ, light a candle for Judy Dyble, relive a Nick Lowe parlour game and watch a sensationally dreadful pop documentary. Subscribe to our Patreon for exclusive content and benefits: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear