Episodes
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For this episode we're joined – all the way from L.A. – by special guest Bob Merlis. The former head of publicity at Warner-Reprise Records in Burbank talks us through his musical odyssey from his Brooklyn childhood to his continuing PR work for the likes of ZZ Top and Carlene Carter.
We hear about Bob's start at Record World in late '60s New York and the early '70s pieces he wrote for that trade publication and for Warners' short-lived Words & Music. Our guest then talks about his brief stints at RCA and Albert Grossman's Bearsville Records before touching on key acts and moments in the nearly three decades he spent in Burbank: Little Feat's Lowell George, Jerry Wexler producing Etta James and Warners president Joe Smith roasting the infamous Morris Levy. Clips from Dave Zimmer's 1988 audio interview with Neil Young prompt discussion of that quintessential Reprise artist (and his comrades in CSNY).
After Mark quotes from pieces about Elektra Records dropping the MC5 and free-improv guitarist Derek Bailey, Jasper talks us out with reflections on the musical passions of footballer Rio Ferdinand and Houston rapper Chamillionaire.
Many thanks to special guest Bob Merlis. For info on Bob's PR work, visit https://mfhpr.com/m-f-h-at-20.
Pieces discussed: R&B is B(l)ack and Involved, Jerry Wexler Crosses Tracks for Tony Joe, Todd Rundgren Warps Time, Lowell George Talks About Little Feat, Little Feat Keeps On Truckin', Little Feat: How To Construct a "Critics' Band", Neil Young audio, Elektra Records Kicks Out MC5, Derek Bailey: Themes on Improvisation, The Record Doctor: Rio Ferdinand and Chamillionaire: Change. -
In this special episode we celebrate the last four years with clips from twelve of the best 100 shows we've recorded in that time.
Following an intro from Spandau Ballet mainmain Gary Kemp speaking in January 2023, we reflect on what we have (or haven't) learned over those four years, then play and discuss clips from these episodes:
Record Mirror legend Norman Jopling on first seeing the "Rollin' Stones" in 1963 (December 2021)
Writer-photographer Val Wilmer on interviewing Jimi Hendrix in 1967 (May 2024)
the Village Voice's Richard Goldstein on not caring if he was "America's first rock critic" (September 2022)
Creem veteran Jaan Uhelszki remembering her "almost famous" colleague Lester Bangs (May 2022)
Author-filmmaker Nelson George on not reviewing the Brothers Johnson as if they were Bob Dylan (July 2021)
Billboard's first rap editor Havelock Nelson on being influenced by Nelson George (March 2025)
NPR's Ann Powers on being influenced by Greil Marcus (June 2024)
The New Statesman's Kate Mossman on her (not-so) secret passion for jazz fusion (February 2022)
"Freak-folk" icon Vashti Bunyan on her love of hymns and carols (April 2022)
Vashti's 1970 producer Joe Boyd on producing Kate & Anna McGarrigle and the magic of sibling harmonies (September 2024) and...
Island Records mogul Chris Blackwell recalling the al fresco recording of John Martyn's 'Small Hours' (September 2022)
After our navel-gazing saunter down memory lane, Mark tells us about the week's new audio interview, in which Amy Linden asks Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel about [the] Fugees' classic 1996 album The Score.
Mark then quotes from newly-added RBP library pieces about David Bowie's Diamond Dogs (1974), Tears for Fears (1982) and Jeffrey Lee Pierce (1985) and Jasper wraps things up with thoughts on pieces about System of a Down (2003) and ex-Black Midi man Geordie Greep (2024).
Finally, a big shout-out to the many great guests who've joined us over the past four years: thank you all for your time and reminiscences!
Pieces discussed: Norman Jopling on Record Mirror + Rhythm & Blues + Rolling Stones, Val Wilmer on free jazz + photography + Lesley Gore audio, Richard Goldstein on '60s pop writing + the Shangri-Las + Shadow Morton, Robert Duncan & Jaan Uhelzski on Lester Bangs + Creem + Suicide, Nelson George on the Death of R&B + Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis audio, Havelock Nelson on Hip Hop + Missy Elliott + Atlantic Records, Ann Powers on Joni Mitchell + Tori Amos + Women in Pop, Vashti Bunyan on Wayward + Nick Drake + Joe Boyd audio, Joe Boyd on global music + Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Chris Blackwell on Island from Millie to U2 + Bunny Wailer, The Fugees (1996), David Bowie: Diamond Dogs (RCA Victor), Tears For Fears: Ready Teddy Go!, Jeffrey Lee Pierce: On The Trail Of The Wild Weed, System of a Down: "We're in World War III!" -
Episodes manquant?
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For this episode we're joined by veteran music scribe Phil Sutcliffe to discuss his years on Sounds, Q and MOJO.
We start by hearing about our guest's Beatles-obsessed adolescence in the North London suburb of Barnet, then follow him up to Manchester University and his subsequent apprenticeship on the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.
Phil explains how he got his foot in the door at Sounds in 1974, initially reviewing gigs on Tyneside before moving back to London to become one of the weekly magazine's key '70s writers. We discuss the paper's transition from Gentle Giant and Back Street Crawler to the Damned and the Sex Pistols — and to the interviews Phil did with County Durham punks Penetration and beloved Salford bard John Cooper Clarke.
From JCC's visit to the Oxford Poetry Festival in 1980, we turn our attention to the week's featured act — politicised post-punks Gang of Four — and thence to the more controversially reactionary Eric Clapton. Clips from John Hutchinson's 1981 audio interview with the guitar "God" prompt conversation about his musical evolution and the infamous 1976 outburst that inspired the launch of Rock Against Racism.
After Mark quotes from newly-added library pieces about Joe Harriott (1964), Miles Davis (1969) and Al Green (1973), Jasper takes us out with his thoughts on articles about Courtney Love (1991), Snoop Dogg (2003) and Cardi B (2019).
Please note that this episode was recorded before we learned of the very sad passings of former Gang Of Four bassist Dave Allen and Malian superstar Amadou Bagayoko — along with Phil Sutcliffe's fellow Sounds contributor Sandy Robertson.
Many thanks to special guest Phil Sutcliffe.
Pieces discussed: The Beatles: I Was A Beatlemaniac, Penetration: Anarchy In County Durham, The Bard Of Beasley Street At The Seat Of Learning, Gang of Four: Dialectics Meet Disco, Gang Of Four: The Revolution Lightens Up, Andy Gill meets Andy Gill, Eric Clapton audio, Eric Clapton: Out of the Darkness, Joe Harriott: Jazz Abstractionist, Miles Davis: In a Silent Way, Hole: Calling the Tune, Snoop Dogg and Welcome to the Cardi Party. -
For this episode we're joined all the way from Harlem in New York City by venerable hip hop writer Havelock Nelson.
The first rap editor at industry bible Billboard talks about his early years in his birthplace Guyana and his love of marching bands in the country's capital Georgetown. From there we hear about his family's move to Brooklyn in 1973 and his early exposure to rap and breakbeat tapes in high school.
Havelock recalls the pioneering hip hop fanzines Word Up! and Black Beat – plus the seminal rap writings of Greg Tate and Nelson George – before recounting his experiences as a columnist on Billboard. He also explains the genesis of Bring the Noise, the 1991 "guide to rap music and hip-hop culture" he co-authored with fellow RBP contributor Michael A. Gonzales.
Mention of our guest's 1994 interview with the Notorious B.I.G. takes us into discussion of the synergy between hip hop's rising stars and rap media such as The Source magazine. Havelock also reflects on memorable interviews he did with the likes of KRS-One, Slick Rick, LL Cool J and Salt-N-Pepa.
The latter duo takes us into audio clips from an audio interview with a Virginia-born artist who was profoundly influenced by them: the one and only Missy Elliott, speaking to Sara Scribner after the release of 1997's debut album Supa Dupa Fly... followed by the voices of her collaborators Timbaland and Magoo.
The publication of Taschen's monumental new 75 Years of Atlantic Records prompts reflections on the legendary label co-founded by the late Ahmet Ertegun, plus our thoughts on the present-day roster that includes Charli XCX, Bruno Mars, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran.
The episode concludes with quotes from newly-added library pieces about artists such as Wee Willie Harris, Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich, the Pharcyde and André 3000.
Many thanks to special guest Havelock Nelson. Find his writing on Rock's Backpages and join his Going Way Back group on Facebook.
Dr. Dre: The Chronic, B.I.G.: Rap's Next Big Thing, The Rap Column: Media’s Rap On Rap Is Out Of Balance, Missy Elliott audio, The Age of Atlantic: Jerry Wexler, Rick Rubin: Def Jam's Man With The Plan, Ahmet Ertegun and The History of Atlantic Records, The Age of Atlantic: Making Tracks, Wee Willie Harris, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, The Pharcyde: New Rap Masters and André 3000: New Blue Sun. -
For this episode we're joined in person by the delightful Siân Pattenden, author of the Agatha Bilke and Magical Peppers children's book series.
We start by asking our guest about her early years as a child actor and teenage playwright before she describes the fanzines she published with her pal Nicky Fijalkowska. We hear how these helped to get her foot in the door at Smash Hits, the million-selling pop bi-weekly she joined in 1989. Quotes from classic Hits pieces she wrote are interspersed with hilarious recollections of working alongside Tom Doyle and Sylvia Patterson.
From "Ver Hits" we move on to the more indie-tastic Select and Siân's part in the Britpop wars – with special attention to Elastica, Jarvis Cocker and a pulped July 1994 issue that contained her guide to "legal highs". After reminiscences of a stint teaching music writing at the London School of Journalism, Siân explains the genesis of her 1998 book How to Make It in the Music Business.
Mention of a 2007 Guardian Blogs piece bemoaning the "boy-rock" template established by the Beatles leads into reflections on the all-girl Bangles, subject of a new authorised biography by two-time RBP podcast guest Jennifer Otter Bickerdike.
The desperately sad passing of David Johansen prompted us to dig out and digitise a 1994 audio interview with the sometime New York Dolls frontman. We hear three clips of David talking very amusingly to Q's Mat Snow – and in the process pay tribute to the singer and his fellow Dolls.
After Jasper marks the 70th anniversary of the death of Charlie Parker with quotes from the late Richard Cook's magnificent 1995 piece about the bebop genius, we pay additional tribute to jazz-funk vibraphonist Roy Ayers and neo-soul queen Angie Stone.
Many thanks to special guest Siân Pattenden. Visit her website at sianpattenden.co.uk for more info on her books, art and music.
Pieces discussed: En Vogue: Dawn! Maxine! Terry! Cindy!, At Home in L.A. with Paula Abdul!, This is the Future: Elastica — the Bash Street Kids, Meet the Sheatles, The Bangs: Not Just Another Girl Group, The Bangles: a Female Fab Four?, The Bangles: Globe Trotters, The Bangles: Eternal Flame, The New York Dolls' David Johansen (1994), Charlie Parker: The Prince of Wails, Roy Ayers, Angie Stone: Precious and Pure, Dancing in New York Emmylou Harris: Emmylou on the Verge and The Swede Smell of Success. -
In this episode we welcome not one but two guests and ask them to talk about their long-time friend and mentor Dave Marsh.
Daniel Wolff and Danny Alexander co-edited 2023's Marsh anthology Kick Out the Jams: on the eve of his 75th birthday they reflect on his powerful writing, his impassioned politics and his career from Creem and Rolling Stone to the Rock & Roll (subsequently Rock & Rap) Confidential newsletter he launched in 1983.
An audio clip of Dave being interviewed by Daniel for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame takes us back to the former's championing of his Detroit contemporaries the MC5 and the Stooges. Meanwhile pieces about Creem itself and about his friend and frequent biographical subject Bruce Springsteen prompt our guests' amused thoughts on Dave's trenchant opinions and general combativeness.
A 1990 Vox piece about 'The Star-Spangled Banner' leads us to clips from a 1996 audio interview with one of Marsh's many Black music heroes: the sainted Curtis Mayfield. On the 60th anniversary of the Impressions' 'People Get Ready', we talk about the Chicago soul star's songs, politics, guitar-playing — and the sheer wisdom and serenity of the man. (News of the death of Mayfield's old friend and fellow Impression Jerry Butler only reached us the day after this episode was recorded.)
After we've paid our respects to Jam drummer Rick Buckler, Jasper quotes from recently-added library interviews with Lil' Kim (1997) and Hipgnosis boss Merck Mercuriadis (2021).
Many thanks to special guests Daniel Wolff and Danny Alexander. Kick Out the Jams: Jibes, Barbs, Tributes and Rallying Cries from 35 years of Music Writing by Dave Marsh is published by Simon & Schuster and available now from all good bookshops.
Pieces discussed: Creem Reflects Detroit Rock 'n' Roll, Barry Kramer 1943–1981, Sour Creem, Bruce Springsteen: Shouldn't He Be Famous?, The Incredible Story of Iggy & the Stooges, 'The Star Spangled Banner', Curtis Mayfield audio, Rick Buckler, Lil' Kim and Merck Mercuriadis. -
In this episode we're joined by music-biz legend Danny Goldberg to discuss his dealings with Led Zeppelin and Kurt Cobain — and the school days he spent with the great Gil Scott-Heron.
Danny takes us back to his short-lived stint at Berkeley and his first port of call on returning to his native New York: clerking at trade bible Billboard, a job that led to the publication of his report on 1969's Woodstock festival.
From there we jump to the three years our guest spent working for Led Zep — first as their press agent, then as V-P of their label Swan Song. We revisit the band's conquest and domination of '70s America and hear hair-raising tales of Page, Plant, Bonzo, Peter Grant and Richard Cole... as well as Danny's 1976 exit from the band's dark vortex.
The story of how Nirvana came to be managed by Danny's company Gold Mountain prompts thoughts on Kurt Cobain and mention of the 2019 memoir (Serving the Servant) our guest wrote about him. Danny brings his management and record-label story up to date by previewing the new album by his clients the Waterboys.
The week's new audio interview takes us back to the '60s and to Danny's reminiscences of the young Gil Scott-Heron, who can be heard talking in 1978 to Mark "Radio Pete" Bliesener. The second of two clips — about Richard Nixon — brings us to the shocking present moment of Donald Trump's and Elon Musk's unprecedented assault on American democracy.
After a tribute to the departed Marianne Faithfull — heard talking about the brilliant Broken English album in a short audio clip from 2014 — Jasper quotes from a 2023 Simon Reynolds article about A.I. and music journalism.
Pieces discussed: Woodstock: Peace Mecca, Led Zeppelin: Under The Hood – A Backstage Chronicle of the Historic 1975 Tour, Led Zeppelin: Danny Goldberg's Hideaway, Danny Goldberg: Serving the Servant – Remembering Kurt Cobain (Ecco), Gil Scott-Heron audio (1978), Growing Up With Gil Scott-Heron: In Loving Memory, Marianne Faithfull audio (2014) and I'm a Noted Music Critic. Can A.I. Do My Job?. -
In this episode, we invite the excellent Gene Sculatti to talk us through his career from Crawdaddy! magazine to the Atomic Cocktail radio show he still hosts at Luxuria Music.
Commencing in San Francisco in the summer of 1960 — when Gene first heard Dion's 'Lonely Teenager' — we ask our guest about his lifelong love of surf music and the Beach Boys. From there we jump to his mid-'60s radio show "Blues and Such", then on to the first stirrings of the Haight-Ashbury scene he captured in a landmark 1966 report for Crawdaddy! ... and later in San Francisco Nights, the classic 1985 book he co-wrote with the late Davin Seay.
Gene recalls his 1973 move to Los Angeles and his subsequent years as the editorial director of Warner Brothers Records in Burbank. We hear about the company's super-hip in-house publications Circular and Waxpaper, as well as about working under the legendary Derek Taylor. We also discuss his deep love of '80s dance-pop and his 1990 sleevenotes for Madonna's Immaculate Collection.
The episode with clips from a 2012 audio with The Band's sainted keyboard genius Garth Hudson, who was lost to us on 21st January, and finally with quotes from Mark's and Jasper's favourite new additions to the RBP library.
Pieces discussed: San Francisco Bay Rock, Mojo Navigator: Memories of Mojo, "Home Runs, No Bunts" — Solar Power On The Rise, Madonna: The Immaculate Collection, Barry Goldberg Interviews, Articles and Reviews, Barry Goldberg & Bob Dylan's Secret Gem, The World According to Garth Hudson, The Band's Garth Hudson audio, The Walker Brothers, Pop Eye: The New Jazz, Burt Bacharach, Derek Taylor, Sly & Robbie Come On Like Assassins, Wu-Tang Clan: One of These Men Is God, and Thundercat. -
For the first episode of 2025, former Rolling Stone staffer and Bay Area photographer Michael Goldberg joins us to reminisce about his music journalism and discuss his new book Jukebox.
We start by asking our guest about the influences of San Franciscan "shooters" from Herb Greene to Annie Liebowitz, with special emphasis on Jim Marshall and Baron Wolman. Michael then recounts the story of how — as a 17-year-old living in Mill Valley — he came to interview the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia in 1970 for his self-published zine Hard Road.
From there we hear about some of the photos Michael took in the '70s, from Frank Zappa in 1975 to the Sex Pistols' final show in 1978. Mention of the great Taj Mahal — photographed by our guest a decade after the country-blues/world-music pioneer posed for Baron Wolman in Topanga — takes us to clips from (and discussion of) a 1982 audio interview with Taj by John Hutchinson.
Finally we ask Michael about his stellar writing career from the San Francisco Chronicle to Rolling Stone — and finally to his trailblazing '90s online magazine Addicted to Noise, for whom he interviewed Prince in 1998.
Many thanks to special guest Michael Goldberg. Jukebox: Photographs 1967–2023 is published by Hozac Books and available now.
Pieces discussed: Introduction to Jukebox, An interview with Baron Wolman, Jim Marshall's jazz images, Jim Marshall, Taj Mahal audio, An audience with Prince, the Beach Boys, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Eric B. & Rakim and the Smash Hits Tour 2000. -
For the final episode of 2024 we're joined by the formidable Pat Kane, who answers our questions about his dual career as a musician and writer with what co-host Martin Colyer describes as "an almost frightening eloquence".
Commencing with the formative memories of his late father singing Frank Sinatra songs to him at bedtime — and his lifelong fixation with Ol' Blue Eyes — Pat talks about Hue and Cry, the R&B-infused pop group he formed with his brother Greg in 1983.
Reflections on the success of singles such as 1987's 'Labour of Love' prompt a general discussion of '80s "Brit Soul", with significant input from fellow practitioners Mark Pringle and Martin Colyer. The two linchpins of Hot House recall the 1987 sessions they recorded in the Southern-soul oasis of Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
After bringing the Hue and Cry story up to the present day, Jasper introduces clips from Daryl Easlea's 2001 audio interview with Chic's Nile Rodgers. As a tribute to the group's Alfa Anderson, who died two days before this episode was recorded, Daryl's splendid interview provides the perfect excuse to express our love for disco's greatest self-contained band.
Finally, we ask our guest about his exceptional writing as a cultural and political journalist, focusing in particular on his brilliant pieces about Brian Eno (1995) and Michael Jackson (2009). Mark and Jasper then talk us out with quotes from (and remarks on) their favourite newly-added pieces in the RBP library.
Many thanks to special guest Pat Kane. Subscribe to his Substack at patkane.substack.com.
Pieces discussed: Frank Sinatra, Hue and Cry: "How Well Do You Know Your Brother?", Headin' South: Muscle Shoals '87, Brian Eno: Jingle the Other One, The Man in Our Mirror: Michael Jackson, Nile Rodgers audio, Have You Heard What They're Singing These Days?, Don Cherry, Alicia Bridges, Billy Fury, Rage Against The Machine. -
For this episode we're joined by Chris Charlesworth, mainstay of Melody Maker in its '70s pomp and subsequently editorial director of music imprint Omnibus Books. Starting out at Skipton's Craven Herald & Pioneer in his native Yorkshire, Chris talks us through key moments in the Maker years he documents in recent memoir Just Backdated.
Paying particular attention to his stints as a '70s correspondent from L.A. and New York, we also ask Chris about MM colleagues such as Max Jones, Richard Williams and Roy Hollingworth. Recollections of close encounters with the likes of John Lennon and Debbie Harry are followed by clips from a 1989 audio interview in which Elkie Brooks talks to John Tobler about Vinegar Joe and Leiber & Stoller.
After Mark quotes from newly-added library interviews with South African jazz man Dudu Pukwana (1970) and punk icon Jordan (1978), Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on pieces about hip hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash (2009) and Queen legend Freddie Mercury (2023).
Many thanks to special guest Chris Charlesworth. Just Backdated: Seven Years in the Seventies is published by Spenwood books and available now. For more Chris, visit his website at justbackdated.blogspot.com.
Pieces discussed: John Lennon: Lennon Today, Debbie Harry: Face It, Elkie Brooks audio, Dudu Pukwana, Captain Beefheart & Frank Zappa, Jordan: Love is not easy for a painted lady, Grandmaster Flash, Eagles of Death Metal and A piece of Freddie Mercury. -
In this episode we ask the former Time Out editor and acclaimed author of fascinating studies of fonts, maps and encyclopaedias about his long writing career; we also discuss semi-colons and listen to clips from audio interviews with Cher and Luther Vandross. Our guest reflects on Expensive Habits — his 1986 investigation of the music industry's "dark side" — and revisits two of his many great pieces: a hilarious 1987 encounter with Guns N' Roses and a 2003 interview with the newly-solo Beyoncé for the Observer Music Monthly.
Cher's new autobiography leads to discussion of the singer-actor's remarkable life and work, while the new documentary Luther: Never Too Much prompts thoughts on the sadness of Vandross's double life as a closeted gay man and object of romantic female desire. Among the newly-added library articles we consider, aptly, is Lucy O'Brien's 2001 Q piece "Why Is Pop So Gay?"; we also hear quotes from the late great Eve Babitz's 1979 Rolling Stone celebration of L.A.'s Troubadour club and from Del Cowie's 2009 Exclaim! interview with hip hop elder Big Daddy Kane.
Many thanks to special guest Simon Garfield. For more Simon, visit his website at simongarfield.com.
Pieces discussed: Guns N' Roses, Cher audio, Beyoncé: Uh-Oh! Uh-Oh! Uh-Oh!, Pete Townshend: Who He Is, Luther Are Good For The Soul, Luther Vandross: Let's Start with Pacman, Luther Vandross: The Sadness Behind the Soul, Shel Talmy, The Good Old Days at L.A.'s Troubadour, Stock Aitken and Waterman, Pet Shop Boys, Why Is Pop So Gay?, Snoop Dogg live and Big Daddy Kane. -
In this episode — recorded on the somewhat sombre Wednesday after the U.S. elections — we welcome the wonderful Beverley Glick to our Hammersmith lair and ask her about her New Romantic nom de plume Betty Page.
Beverley tells us about her early days on Sounds, where she started out as editor Alan Lewis' secretary, and talks us through her seminal 1980 encounters with Spandau Ballet and Steve Strange. Her subsequent early interview with Duran Duran leads us to clips from David Keeps' 1993 audio interview with the Brummie band's frontman Simon Le Bon. After touching briefly on Depeche Mode, whom Beverley also interviewed very early on, our guest revisits the short-lived Noise! — Sounds' very own attempt at "doing" a Smash Hits — and recounts her subsequent path to the editorship of the rather longer-standing Record Mirror.
Memories of mad moments with Happy Mondays (for Vox), and Beverley's eventual graduation to national newspapers, take us to her decision to forsake journalism for a career as a life coach specialising in "leadership communication" — and as the author of this year's In Your Own Words.
A few glum thoughts on the political distortion of words such as "freedom" segue into our homage to the brilliant and outrageous Quincy Jones. Mark then quotes from newly-added library pieces about the Who (1965) and Ronnie Scott (1979)... and Jasper wraps up the episode with his thoughts on articles about "Brazilian Prince" Ed Motta (2006) and Tricky's magnificent Maxinquaye (2023).
Many thanks to special guest Beverley Glick. For more Beverley, including info on her books and coaching, visit beverleyglick.com.
Pieces discussed: Spandau Ballet: The New Romantics — a Manifesto for the Eighties, Visage: Stranger In Town, How I Discovered Duran Duran. Or Did They Discover Me?, Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon audio, Quincy Jones Has a Story About That, The Who, Ronnie Scott: King Of Clubs, The World of Ed Motta and Tricky: Maxinquaye (Reincarnated) (UMR/Island) -
In this episode we're joined by NME legend Chris Salewicz, author of acclaimed books about Bob Marley, Joe Strummer and others.
We hear about our guest's boyhood in Yorkshire — and about the first gig he ever saw: the Beatles in Leeds in 1963 (followed in rapid succession by the Rolling Stones — plus a young David Bowie — in Huddersfield). Chris then describes how a move to London in the early '70s led to getting his foot in the door at Let It Rock and then, in 1974, at the indispensable New Musical Express.
Discussion of the culture at the NME — sprinkled with yarns about such colleagues as Mick Farren, Tony Tyler and Tony Stewart — prompts recollections of Chris' interviews with Jimmy Page (in 1977) and Prince (in 1981)... and culminates in the moment he opted to quit the paper for pastures new. A digression on Supertramp's 50-year-old Crime of the Century sparks a passionate defence of that unfairly maligned ensemble by 28-year-old Jasper Murison-Bowie.
Jumping forward to the 21st century, we hear wonderful clips from Gavin Martin's 2006 audio interview with the youngest member of the "27 Club" series Chris collected in his 2015 book Dead Gods. Our thoughts on the astounding talent and tragically short life of Amy Winehouse then follows.
After Mark quotes from newly-added library pieces — Val Wilmer's 1967 interview with free-jazz trailblazer Archie Shepp; Mick Brown's 1975 encounter with Bakersfield country icon Buck Owens – Jasper concludes the episode with his thoughts on a piece about "hip hop's Mozart" J Dilla (2011).
Many thanks to special guest Chris Salewicz. For more Chris and info about all his books, visit chris-salewicz.com.
Pieces discussed: The Gig Interview: Jimmy Page, The Clash: Clash On Tour, Bob Marley: A Day Out At The Gun Court, Prince, Supertramp: Crime Of The Century, Supertramp: To Concept Or Not To Concept?, Supertramp: The Taking of America by Strategy, Supertramp: Is This Really The Most Fun You Can Have With a Washing-Up Glove?, Amy Winehouse audio, Archie Shepp, Buck Owens and J Dilla: The Mozart of Hip-Hop. -
For this episode we're joined by the admirable Simon Raymonde, sometime Cocteau Twin, head honcho at Bella Union Records and author of the autobiographical In One Ear.
We commence by asking our guest about growing up as the son of the legendary Ivor Raymonde, string arranger on umpteen hits by pop idols from Billy Fury to the Walker Brothers. We hear clips from Ira Robbins' 1989 audio interview with Raymonde Sr.'s most famous client Dusty Springfield — and discuss a Ray Connolly piece from 1970 in which she more or less outs herself as gay.
Simon then talks about his days behind the counter at Beggars Banquet Records and how they led to his joining the Cocteaus in 1984. Clips from a 1996 audio interview with the trio prompt his reflections on writing and performing with Robin Guthrie and Elizabeth Fraser — and how their extraordinary music won the admiration of everyone from Prince to Jeff Buckley. Simon also recalls the fallout from leaving indie sanctuary 4AD for major-label Fontana.
We conclude by asking our guest about the 27-year-old Bella Union label, home to Midlake, Fleet Foxes, Beach House, John Grant, Flaming Lips and Father John Misty… and to 17-year-old Nell Smith, who tragically died in a car accident three days before we recorded this episode.
After Mark quotes from newly-added library pieces — Val Wilmer's 1966 interview with Sun Ra; Lester Bangs' rave review of the Temptations' Sky's the Limit — Jasper brings the episode to a close with his thoughts on early interviews with Alicia Keys (2001) and Amy Winehouse (2004).
Many thanks to special guest Simon Raymonde. In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor and Me is published by Nine Eight Books and available now from all good bookshops. Visit the Bella Union Vinyl Shop at 25 Church St in Brighton and online at bellaunionvinylshop.com.
Pieces discussed: Cocteau Twins, Cocteau Triplets, Cocteau Quadruplets, Dusty Springfield audio, Dusty Springfield: Dusty at 30... loneliness is an occasional thing, Sun Ra: Flying Saucers Coming To Take Me Away, Ha Ha!, The Temptations: Sky's the Limit, Alicia Keys: Move over Macy and Whine and Song; Amy Winehouse hits out at girl singers and why she's one of the very best. -
For this episode we're joined – all the way from sunny Southern California – by L.A. Times legend Robert Hilburn.
Bob beams in to discuss his new biography of the peerless Randy Newman, but we start by asking him about the early childhood memories (of his native Louisiana) that he shares with Randy himself. From there he takes us from the Eureka moment of hearing a then-unknown Elvis Presley on the radio for the first time – through his teen years in suburban SoCal – to his early freelance pieces for the Times. Which include his account of accompanying Johnny Cash to Folsom Prison in January 1968...
Bob's famously influential 1970 review of Elton John at West Hollywood's beloved Troubadour club gives us a chance to discuss the halcyon days of singer-songwriters and leads directly on to Randy Newman, whose "Troub" debut in the same year Bob also reviewed. We talk at length about the satirical genius behind 'Sail Away', 'Short People' and 'I Love L.A.', revisiting the 50-year-old Good Old Boys in depth and listening to clips from John Hutchinson's 1983 audio interview with Randy.
Pieces discussed: Doug Weston: A Man Who Had a Passion for Art of the Troubadour, Elton John @ the Troubadour, Randy Newman @ the Troubadour, Randy Newman audio interview, Thelonious Monk, The Problems of Being Roger McGuinn, Felton Jarvis: Nashville Producer and Cornershop. -
For this episode we're joined by the Brooklyn-based Andrew Smith, author of the bestselling Moondust, the "dotcom swindle" saga Totally Wired and the brand-new Devil in the Stack.
We start by asking Andrew about the peripatetic childhood that took him from Greenwich Village to Hastings via San Francisco's summer of love. A riveting account of auditioning to replace Mick Jones in the Clash leads us to our guest's recollections of writing in the '80s and '90s for Melody Maker and The Face — and eventually becoming chief pop critic at London's Sunday Times.
Jumping to Andrew's new book — with its subtitle A Coding Odyssey — we ask him about music's "digital revolution" in the mid-'80s, with particular attention to the ubiquity of Yamaha's DX7 keyboard. From there we revisit his 1995 interview with Björk – an artist who overtly embraced electronic sounds in that decade — and then listen to two audio clips from David Toop's absorbing encounter with the Icelandic maverick six years later.
After a fascinating discussion about A.I. – its upsides and its threat not merely to musicians but to humanity at large — we return to the mid-'90s to celebrate the all-too-short life of the Notorious B.I.G., hip hop's "King of New York" in that all-too-violent decade.
Mark provides quotes from recently-added library pieces about Captain Beefheart (1969), the Sex Pistols (1978) and oddly Francophobe goths Sisters of Mercy (1987), and Jasper wraps up the episode with his thoughts on articles about pop fanzines (2003) and writer, photographer and recent podcast guest Val Wilmer (2024).
Many thanks to special guest Andrew Smith. Devil in the Stack: A Coding Odyssey is published by Grove Press and available now. Visit Andrew's website at andrewsmithauthor.com for more details.
Pieces discussed: Andrew Smith on RBP, Björk: An International Word, Sound and Fury: Radiohead, Björk audio, Notorious B.I.G.: B.I.G. Trouble, Biggie, Tupac et al: Hollywood or Bust-up, Black Metropolis: Notorious R.I.P., Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band: Trout Mask Replica, The Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, The Sisters Of Mercy: After The Flood, The Fanzine Editor: Publish And Be Damned and Val Wilmer: Deep Blues 1960–1988 (Café Royal). -
For this episode we're joined by a living musical legend whose career as an A&R man, manager, producer, label-owner and writer spans over 60 extraordinary years.On the day his monumental "journey through Global Music" And the Roots of Rhythm Remain is published, the peerless Joe Boyd visits RBP's Hammersmith HQ to talk about the book — and the 17+ years it took to write the follow-up to 2006's acclaimed memoir White Bicycles. After we hear about the 1987 meeting that led to the adoption of the now-discredited term "World Music" as a marketing category, discussion touches on the sound, rhythms and political impact of music from South Africa, Brazil, Bulgaria and — inevitably — Jamaica.Clips from John Hutchinson's 1982 audio interview with the late great Kate McGarrigle – mother of Rufus and Martha Wainwright — lead to our guest's recollections of working with her and sister Anna on their magical eponymous debut in 1975. Joe also reminisces about Junco Partner, the 1976 album he made with New Orleans piano genius James Booker.Talk of the week's featured RBP writer Robert Shelton — coinciding with the imminent reissue of the latter's epic Bob Dylan biography No Direction Home — prompts memories of the late New York Times critic from Joe, who (lest we forget) worked as stage manager at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival in which Dylan first "went electric".Many thanks to special guest Joe Boyd. And the Roots of Rhythm Remain is published by Faber in the UK and Ze Books in the US; visit Joe's website joeboyd.co.uk for more details.Pieces discussed: Joe Boyd: Freaky Galahad, Joe Boyd: An Interview, Joe Boyd on White Bicycles, Kate McGarrigle audio, Bob Dylan at Gerde's Folk City, New York, Pop Singers and Song Writers Racing Down Bob Dylan's Road and Bob Dylan: How does it feel on your own?.
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Joining us all the way from Santa Barbara for this episode is Darrell M. McNeill, director of operations at the Black Rock Coalition and author of a new 33 1/3 study of the Isley Brothers' mighty 1973 album 3 + 3.
We start by asking our guest about his '90s contributions to the Village Voice and his involvement with the B.R.C.. Crediting his dad for his own childhood love of the Isleys, Darrell tells us how he came to write about the band. We discuss their unique history across six-plus decades, arriving at the dramatic game-changer that was 3 + 3.
Inevitably referencing Jimi Hendrix — an Isleys sideman in the mid-'60s — we ask Darrell about the group's pioneering hybrid of R&B and rock and their covers of classic songs by Carole King, James Taylor et al. A special nod, of course, to Jimi's incalculable influence on kid brother and budding guitar genius Ernie.
From the Isleys to Isaac Hayes: following two clips from Ira Robbins' 1995 audio interview with the sometime Stax superstar, we discuss such radical milestones as 'Theme from Shaft' and Hot Buttered Soul's version of Bacharach & David's 'Walk On By'.
After a brief digression to salute the 50th anniversary of long-time RBP contributor John Broven's seminal 1974 book Walking to New Orleans, Mark talks us out with quotes from newly-added interviews with Janis Joplin (1969) and Beatles session guitarist David Spinozza (1971). Jasper then wraps up the episode with remarks on Destiny's Child (2003) and The Comet is Coming (2019).
Many thanks to special guest Darrell M. McNeill. His book on the Isley Brother's 3 + 3 is published by Bloomsbury and available now.
Pieces discussed: The Isleys: first time winners again!, The Isley Brothers: 3 + 3, The Isley Brothers: 3 + 3 = Super Success, Ernie Isley: Pride of the Isleys, Isaac Hayes audio, Fats Domino & His Orchestra: Saville Theatre, Behind The Sun: New Orleans, 'See You Later Alligator': Bobby Charles, Janis Joplin: Janis Superhypermost!, Paul McCartney: Working with Paul — A Session Musician Speaks, Kelly Rowland: Real Girl Talk, Michie Mee is the First Lady of Toronto Hip-Hop and The Comet is Coming: Interstellar Apocalypse. -
In this episode we're joined by the esteemed Joe "Mr. C" McEwen, who Zooms in from L.A. to reminisce about his storied career as a writer, DJ and A&R man.
We begin in our guest's native Philadelphia, where his teenage mind was blown by a James Brown show in 1966, and follow him up to his adopted Boston. He recalls his early reviews for The Boston Phoenix and revisits his 1975 homage to Sam Cooke for The Real Paper. His 1977 encounter with a 19-year-old Michael Jackson prompts discussion of a comparatively low point in the future superstar's career.
From the same year, Joe's profile of Joe Tex leads into clips from the late Cliff White's glorious audio interview with the country-soul legend who'd just scored a hit with the discofied 'Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)'. We discuss Tex's place in the southern soul pantheon before moving on to the marvellous Lost Soul compilations "Mr. C" assembled in 1982.
We hear about Joe's A&R years at Columbia and then Sire/Reprise, taking in reminiscences of British bands Ride, Primal Scream and My Bloody Valentine. He also revisits his working friendships with Sire founder Seymour Stein and with previous RBP podcast guests Geoff Travis, Alan McGee and Rob Dickins. We hear about his role in the '90s "alt.country" phenomenon via the signing of Uncle Tupelo and his subsequent association with spinoff bands Wilco and Son Volt. We conclude with the Sire signing of Muscle Shoals legend Dan Penn for 1994's Do Right Man album.
Mark talks us out with quotes from newly-added library pieces about sometime Ikette P.P. Arnold (1967), the Stones' Keith Richard(s) (1969), doomed dub poet Mikey Smith (1983) and the deeply druggy Alice in Chains (1993)... after which Jasper wraps up the episode with his thoughts on pieces about laptop pop (2001) and Kendrick Lamar (2012).
Many thanks to special guest Joe McEwen.
Pieces discussed: Sam Cooke, Michael Jackson, Joe Tex: The Soul Of An Underdog, Joe Tex audio, Lost Soul, Vols. 1-3, Uncle Tupelo live, Uncle Tupelo: Are you ready for the alt. country?, Wilco: Last Twang in Town, Dan Penn: Once More With Feeling, P.P. Arnold, Keith Richard(s), Mikey Smith: Poet and His Roots, Alice in Chains: Misery loves company, Laptop punk and the powerbook pop and Kendrick Lamar: Inside the Year's Best Album. - Montre plus
