Word In Your Ear

We stuck a coin in this week’s jukebox of news and cranked up the volume and these were the tracks that got played … … fond memories of Annie Nightingale at Radio One and Whistle Test. … the delicious melancholy of Sunday night pop radio. … how David Gilmour writes songs. … sex, clothes, gangsters: the eternal allure of Bonnie & Clyde. … how the first Police album (including three hit singles) was recorded by a former doctor in a four-track studio above a dairy in Leatherhead for £1,500, and the band’s touching tribute when he died. … the British Library hijack hack. … the fantasy theme of so many ‘60s movies: ‘escape’. … Ridley Scott’s Hovis ad. … Blind Willie Johnson, Chuck Berry … Blodwyn Pig? The five tracks you’d send into space to represent life on earth. … how future wars will be started. … plus birthday guest Sandra Austin on the best use of choirs on records among them Aretha Franklin’s You’ve Got A Friend, Blur’s Tender, the Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Roy Harper’s When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease.Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content!: https;//www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jim Gordon played the drums on Wichita Lineman, Good Vibrations, the Byrds’ Mr Tambourine Man and hundreds of other recordings we all own and worked with pretty much everyone including Steely Dan, Tom Waits, Tom Petty, Randy Newman, John Lennon, Frank Zappa and the Everlys. He toured with Delaney & Bonnie and Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs And Englishmen package and was a member of Derek & the Dominos. He played with a “bounce, a lilt, a boiling undercurrent” that added a whole new melodic dimension and he saw two different worlds from the inside, the studio-based pop factories of the ‘60s singles boom and the big ‘70s tours of the heyday of the rock album. West Coast author and music columnist Joel Selvin considers his supreme talent and ultimately catastrophic story in his new book ‘Drums & Demons: the Tragic Journey of Jim Gordon’ alighting here at various points in detail, among them … … the intersection between “rock and roll and true crime”. … the secret of “a compositional drummer”. … how he started at the top, aged 17, touring with the Everlys and the Rolling Stones. … how Rita Coolidge was robbed of her royalties, twice. … his appetite for fame and recognition at a time when “being a rock star was the most elevated position in the world”.   … why he turned down a Dylan tour.   … the long, tangled evolution of ‘Layla’ and what Jim added to You’re So Vain that transformed it. … and why he was sentenced to 16 years (for the murder of his mother) and ended up doing 38. Order Joel’s book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drums-Demons-Tragic-Journey-Gordon/dp/1635768993Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leaping across puddles, walking between the raindrops, its collar turned to the cold and damp, our weekly podcast builds a defence against the rigours of the rock and roll weather and offers shelter from the storm. Remain warm and dry with the following … … the 11 musicians who turned down a Knighthood, MBE etc. … why Dylan & the Band’s 1974 tour set the template for all tours to follow. … Rod Stewart minus the hair: unimaginable. … the old duffers’ perfect New Year’s Eve. … happy 50th to Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark, Van Morrison’s It’s Too Late To Stop Now, Steely Dan’s Pretzel Logic, Gram Parsons’ Grievous Angel, Big Star’s Radio City, Todd Rundgren’s Todd and Frank Zappa’s Apostrophe. … Mr Bates v the Post Office and why sad films and books get harder to process as you get older. … the wit and wisdom of our old pal Rod Sopp, the Smash Hits ad man - “a roll of cash big enough to choke a donkey”; “he’s so thin he has to run around in the shower to get wet”. … Sting, Debbie Harry, Elvis Presley: spot the natural blond. … how Woody Allen uses music to “make films look better”. … the story of Everybody’s Talkin’ in Midnight Cowboy. … why movie dance sequences are often filmed in silence.   … and birthday guest Andrew Slattery: All Along the Watchtower in Withnail, Sanctus in If, Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby in O Brother Where Art Thou? and other great movie soundtrack moments.Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amid the detritus of tangerine peel, half-eaten chocolates, broken toys and jars of home-brewed chutney beneath the rock and roll Christmas tree we found various items still unwrapped and awaiting this week’s podcast, among them … … how to create the Dylan Blonde On Blonde shuffle in under two minutes. … “Middlesex Hepworth!” David’s triumph on University Challenge and an inside view of the whole experience. … Noel Coward revisited through the 21st century lens in the ‘Mad About The Boy’ documentary. … Liam Gallagher & John Squire’s super-duo: it’s the Mancunian nostalgia jackpot but are the days of pre-release hype now over? … the most creative thing anyone can do. … actors from humble backgrounds used to pretend to be posher, now the posher ones affect to be working class. … how to listen to live albums: new Hepworth research reveals essential ingredient to enhance audio experience! … ‘a mix is never finished, it’s merely abandoned’, ‘snapping to the grid’ plus the idiosyncrasies of a ‘smart drummer’.  This is the link to creating the Dylan shuffle: https://youtu.be/BMPoFYAwXQ0?t=78Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We check this week’s luggage on the rock and roll baggage carousel and remove the following items for inspection …  … The People v OJ Simpson and why it’s worth re-watching. … the only two convincing films about magazines and journalism. … bands that look like mini-cab drivers. … David’s upcoming appearance on University Challenge (cue the voice of Roger Tilling: “Middlesex Hepworth!”) ... the source of the phrase “Bring on the empty horses!” … why someone called Riley asked John McVie and Nick Mason for his life back. … who was more prolific, Michael Curtiz, Barbara Cartland or Mozart? … the eternal destination of all Peter Pan royalties. … the man who saved Po Powell from a spell in the cooler. … “Morning, Gentlemen. Nice day for murder!” … writing bands’ names on school bags. … ‘I need a sheep, a psychiatrist’s couch, a vet and a ticket to Hawaii!’ ... the old Word magazine gang and what they’re doing now. Mentioned in despatches – the Atom Heart Mother cow, a duff Barry Gibb movie, the Mark Leeman Five and Balaam And the Angel.Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s wheat/chaff separation process sifts the following from the rock and roll cornfield … … Tony Secunda, his gangsterish suits and the publicity stunt that backfired spectacularly. … our old Word magazine pal Rob Fitzpatrick talking about the Japanese composer Michiru Aoyama who's released an album a day since December 2021, each 20 minutes 20 seconds long. And the role of streaming in the ambient music boom. … the life of Denny Laine and the great “chamber pop” hit he wrote. ... why the Move’s Flowers In The Rain has never earned the band a cent.   … how the death of John Lennon was the dawn of the ‘black border’ magazine tribute. … Willie Nelson’s way with a middle eight. … the last men standing in the Band On The Run album shoot.   … is there anyone still on the road older than “the French Bob Dylan” Hugues Aufray (94) and Marshall Allen 0f the Sun Ra Arkestra (99)? … and mentioned in dispatches - Harold Wilson, Frank Ifield, Ginger Baker’s Air Force, ‘Ronnie & Clyde’ and birthday guest Rob Collis and the best rock and roll movies.Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mal Evans was the Beatles’ right-hand man, their bouncer, bodyguard, gofer, chauffeur, drug-runner, roadie, fellow party animal, confidante and friend. Along with Neil Aspinall he was the man who allowed the band to function daily and catered to their every need. He was such a central cog in the machine that Ringo declared, “now Mal’s left, the Beatles are really over.” Mal’s son delivered his archive of photos, manuscripts and memorabilia to the author, lecturer and world-renowned Beatles authority Kenneth Womack and asked him to write his father’s memoir, and the result – ‘Living The Beatles Legend: On the Road with the Fab Four – the Mal Evans Story’ – has just been published. It sees the whole story through a completely different lens. Among the highlights in this illuminating conversation with Ken you’ll find … ... Mal’s delicate relationships with the band and role as a peace-keeper.   … further proof that Allen Klein “caused despair”. … why Lennon said life on the road “was like Satyricon”. … Mal’s brief tenure as Apple’s MD. … how Cynthia Lennon unknowingly shopped him to his wife. … the internal world of “the eight outsiders” (the Fabs, Brian, George M, Neil and Mal). … the reunion with John and Paul at a Harry Nilsson session and the Jesse Ed Davis incident on the Lost Weekend. … echoes of Mal in John Junkin’s character in A Hard Day’s Night. … and the tragic and complex circumstances of his death at the hands of the police in 1976. Order Ken’s book here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/living-the-beatles-legend/kenneth-womack//9780008551216?awaid=3787&utm_source=redbrain&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=css&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=176013&awc=3787_1701449123_6949508e18ba11ed742bd07b0529cc8eSubscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Belfast author and old pal of the pod Stuart Bailie joins us to remember the lost captain of the good ship Pogues and we touch on Shane’s “feral” early life and the character he constructed to keep the world at bay; his place in the Irish literary pantheon, his intelligence worn lightly and Joycean use of language; the night they drank the proceeds from Fairytale Of New York; why the band’s St Patrick’s Day shows were three-day events and a magnet for lost Celtic souls, and how they became good by stealth but were so divisive in Ireland. This alongside other savoury and invigorating ingredients in this week’s rock and roll hot-pot, among them … … David’s five most-played tracks on Spotify in 2023. … real or imaginary Xmas singles? De La Soul’s Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa? Sonic Youth’s Santa Doesn’t Cop Out On Dope? Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Santa’s In The Clan? …. … the life and exceptional times of John Mayall, 90, and the people who passed through his blues academy. … why Spinal Tap might be best left alone.…and the song Randy Newman wrote about missing his ex-wife plus a tremulous joint recitation of Simon Smith & the Amazing Dancing Bear.Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free - access to all of our content!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pauline Murray kept a diary when she and Penetration were on the punk rock frontline and her vivid and emotional memories appear in a new memoir, Life’s A Gamble, beautifully illustrated with personal photos, press cuttings, late ‘70s gig listings and other lovingly archived memorabilia. It teleports you back to a time when pop music made daily headlines and battles were lost and won in fragrant dancehalls and knackered vans on motorways. As does this podcast, recorded with an audience at London’s 21Soho club in late November. Aged 14 she was travelling to London from County Durham and sleeping in railway stations to see the Pistols and the Clash. She formed Penetration in ‘76 and for two hectic years they were caught up in the whirlwind. This account of it all includes Alan Freeman, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Jonathan Richman, Tim Curry (as Dr Frank-N-Furter), why the deaths of Sid and Nancy has such symbolic significance, the female punk ‘sisterhood’ giving her the cold shoulder, her unwise marriage, and the profit and loss statement of the debt she still owes Virgin (the annual reminders have never stopped). And she talks movingly about the experience every group endures when their first flush of mutual love and enthusiasm turns to bitter inter-personal fall-out. One of her kids was in the audience. As was Gaye Advert! Order ‘Life’s A Gamble’ here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lifes-Gamble-Penetration-Invisible-Stories/dp/191317270821Soho: https://www.21-soho.com/Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Glen Matlock came to our live podcast recording at London’s 21Soho at the end of November and lit up the audience with tales from his new memoir ‘Triggers’, stories of his early life in the late ‘50s and ‘60s, his brief and riotous shift in the Sex Pistols and his colourful adventures since. The full cast list includes Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, the DJ Mike Raven, Gary Glitter, John Peel, Kenneth Horne, Malcolm McLaren, Nick Kent, Ian McLagan, Ronnie Lane, Midge Ure, Wally Nightingale, Blondie and Bill Grundy. You get a real sense of the fabric of London around Ted Carroll’s record stall in Ladbroke Grove and around Denmark Street when the Pistols lived and rehearsed there. And look out for the night they played a Conservative Club to a crowd of six, the time McLaren begged him to return as “it wasn’t working out with Sid”, the Filthy Lucre reunion and his luminous account of Johnny Rotten’s audition backed by a jukebox playing Alice Cooper. Glen Matlock came to our live podcast recording at London’s 21Soho at the end of November and lit up the audience with tales from his new memoir ‘Triggers’, stories of his early life in the late ‘50s and ‘60s, his brief and riotous shift in the Sex Pistols and his colourful adventures since. The full cast list includes Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, the DJ Mike Raven, Gary Glitter, John Peel, Kenneth Horne, Malcolm McLaren, Nick Kent, Ian McLagan, Ronnie Lane, Midge Ure, Wally Nightingale, Blondie and Bill Grundy. You get a real sense of the fabric of London around Ted Carroll’s record stall in Ladbroke Grove and around Denmark Street when the Pistols lived and rehearsed there. And look out for the night they played a Conservative Club to a crowd of six, the time McLaren begged him to return as “it wasn’t working out with Sid”, the Filthy Lucre reunion and his luminous account of Johnny Rotten’s audition backed by a jukebox playing Alice Cooper.Recorded in front of a live audience at 21Soho, London, on November 27th 2023. Glen’s tour dates are here: http://www.glenmatlock.co.uk/ And you can order ‘Triggers’ here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/triggers/glen-matlock/9781788709446Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.