

Word In Your Ear
Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold
Mark Ellen and David Hepworth have been talking about and writing about music together and individually for a collective eighty years in magazines like Smash Hits, Mojo and The Word and on radio and TV programmes like "Rock On", "Whistle Test" and VH-1.Over thirteen years ago, when working on the late magazine The Word, they began producing podcasts. Some listeners have been kind enough to say these have been very special to them. When the magazine folded in 2012 they kept the spirit of those podcasts alive in regular Word In Your Ear evenings in which they spoke to musicians and authors in front of an audience. Over these years they've produced hundreds of hours of material. As of the Current Unpleasantness of 2020, they've produced yet hundreds of hours more with a little help from guests kind enough to digitally show them around their attics such as Danny Baker, Andy Partridge, Sir Tim Rice and Mark Lewisohn. For the full span of the Word In Your Ear world, visit wiyelondon.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 13, 2022 • 45min
‘Streaming Killed the Skit Track’ plus Toastface Grillah and the Sgt Peppermill
Among the delights this week:- Pink Floyd’s single for Ukraine (the best peace anthem ever?) and the song Bruce Springsteen played the night Saddam Hussein’s statue came down in Baghdad. A man who has 227 Kiss albums. Warners’ talent scout Andy Wickham (RIP), the house hippy who opened the door for Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Gram Parsons and a-ha (a movie waiting to happen). The members of Big In Japan (a book and documentary waiting to happen). The snack bar Brimful Of Rasher, the Greek restaurant I Should Be Souvlaki and other sparkling retail puns. The welcome return of “What gets my goat?” And birthday patron Chuck Loncon on the comedy classics of Kinky Friedman and Bob Newhart. -------- Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox singing the WW1 folk protest song "The Red Viburnum In The Meadow" by St Sofia Cathedral in central Kyiv: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYpOrwksgbA Pink Floyd’s video for Hey Hey Rise Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saEpkcVi1d4--------Tickets for Word In The Park in London on Saturday June 18th: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/were-throwing-a-party-for-paul-mccartneys-80th-and-youre-invited-tickets-259008229587Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon and receive every future Word Podcast before the rest of the world - and with full visuals!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 4, 2022 • 31min
We spot Will “Slapper” Smith’s biggest mistake at the Oscars and salute Ben Sidran’s foot
Will Smith did something at the Academy Awards which showed what he cared about most - did you notice it too? Our blow-by-blow account of the moment everyone missed. * Plus … a man who has 25 Big Country albums (and other unlikey acts whose records we obsessively collect).* Is there any band still going after 50 years with more original members than Roxy Music?* The enduring joy of Joe Jackson’s Look Sharp! and Night And Day.* And the kind of thing they let you put on an album cover 50 years ago.Tickets for Word In The Park in London on June 18th here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/were-throwing-a-party-for-paul-mccartneys-80th-and-youre-invited-tickets-259008229587Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon and receive every future Word Podcast before the rest of the world - and with full visuals!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 28, 2022 • 29min
No Top Of The Pops. No NME or Smash Hits covers. What do bands dream of now?
In which we salute the charismatic Taylor Hawkins – and the magnetic appeal of brothers in arms (Taylor & Dave, Pete and Carl, Bruce and Clarence, John and Paul) - invent some rock and roll retirement homes (Itchycoo Park, Barrytown, In The Land Of Grey And Pink), stage an album sleeve style-off and wonder if ‘80s hair will ever make a comeback. Other things mentioned in despatches include Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, the Wailing Wailers, Broadcast News, Working Girl and whether Strawberry Switchblade and Pete Wylie have their Smash Hits covers on their living room walls. Steve Lamacq’s Drumming Masterclass with Taylor Hawkins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwjEc8S0PRoTickets for Word In The Park in London on Saturday June 18th here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/were-throwing-a-party-for-paul-mccartneys-80th-and-youre-invited-tickets-259008229587Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon and receive every future Word Podcast before the rest of the world - and with full visuals!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 24, 2022 • 41min
How did ‘New Boots And Panties!!’ get released without a parental advisory sticker?
Entertaining things subjected to wry and rigorous scrutiny this week include:- * The most bizarre and tenuous rock autobiographies – eg the tell-all revelations of Elvis Presley’s nurse, Primal Scream’s tambourine player, Sinatra’s valet and the girl who made John Lennon a cheese sandwich.* How Roger Daltrey wound up living in a van.* Aimee Mann v Steely Dan and the curious world of support acts.* Would you rather see a “legend” or the next big thing? * The noble tradition of song stealing in reggae. * “Your bus leaves in ten minutes, be under it!” and other inspired ways of dealing with hecklers. * If you mailed a letter to 'Andy Partridge, Swindon' or 'Rod Stewart, Essex', would they get it? * And Dolly Parton’s dignified escape from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Plus there’s a ceremonial reading of Bono’s piss-poor poem about Ukraine. Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon and receive every future Word Podcast before the rest of the world - and with full visuals!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 14, 2022 • 50min
There’s only been one truly original group and we know who they are
Have you ever heard a band but couldn’t work out where their sound came from? We’re saying: only once. What connects the Sweet’s Blockbuster! to Willie Dixon’s Hoochie Coochie Man? How can Noel Gallagher complain that musicians can’t afford instruments when instruments have never been cheaper? Why is songwriting now like VAR? Has anyone had more preposterous names than the offspring of Grimes and Elon Musk? How did Nile Rodgers transform Let’s Dance? … plus literary theft, smoking in films, Eno’s Music For Airports, Dylan’s new book, NordVPN and the movies you can watch endless times and why (Master And Commander and Brief Encounter among them).Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/yourear or use the code yourear to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 1 additional month for free + a bonus gift! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! And it’s our anniversary! We started our Word In Your Attic Zoomcasts exactly two years ago and we’ve now done 159 of them. Here’s a little taste of what you might have been missing … Edgar Wrighthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUePw4TUvEY Andy Partridgehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvQiDJ3vwi0 Shamira Ahmedhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6nLk50vR6Y Bob Geldofhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ssIPRMrYzU Ian Rankinhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pawySOxKUAk Stewart Leehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7lOJUYSY9c&list=PL4BuS5rDGKiPB8-eIUxSPTbajC-l2FyuE&index=141 Laura Bartonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7815zq9yc&list=PL4BuS5rDGKiPB8-eIUxSPTbajC-l2FyuE&index=93 Alexis Petridishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsKuIjlMBrs Jon Ronsonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqiMN2QKVZE&list=PL4BuS5rDGKiPB8-eIUxSPTbajC-l2FyuE&index=159Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon and receive every future Word Podcast before the rest of the world - and with full visuals!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 7, 2022 • 39min
Which bands were ALL good–looking? 15 contenders considered...
There’s “pop star good looks” - as opposed to “film star good looks” - and there’s “indie good looks” ... but which acts were a hundred per cent hot? Plus … is there any such thing as an original pop song? How did the Linn Drum make us accept the mechanical? What’s the source of a lot of canned laughter? What was Springsteen’s great act of betrayal? And we explore the benefits of Nord VPN by way of South Korea’s favourite comedy and Peter Sellers and Bernard Cribbins in Two-Way Stretch. And birthday patron Jon Collins gets to call a meeting.Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/yourear or use the code yourear to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 1 additional month for free + a bonus gift! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Maximum pulchritude: the Small Faces and PP Arnold doing Tin Soldier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vWTtx_PxPoSubscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon and receive every future Word Podcast before the rest of the world - and with full visuals!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 28, 2022 • 45min
Why $15m for Britney Spears’ memoir is “a bargain” and the curious tale of A Whiter Shade Of Pale
In which we skip the light fandango through live recordings full of extraneous noise – hecklers on a Lou Reed track, barking dogs on a Joe Henry album, the audience chatter on Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard – remember why Gary Brooker’s voice was so affecting and applaud PJ O’Rourke’s wisdom about the art of childrearing. And turn cartwheels in the direction of a guesthouse run by a member of Horslips, an early sighting of “Little” Stevie Winwood, the Queen track not to play at funerals and a touching encounter with Dave Clark. Plus birthday patron guest Avi Chaudhuri gets to set the agenda. PJ O’Rourke …https://youtu.be/n775HebQKMI?t=197 Joe Henry and barking dog …https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0KmtMgiTuo Dylan’s Every Grain Of Sand with barking dog …https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPzXz-N1NaMSubscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon and receive every future Word Podcast before the rest of the world - and with full visuals!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 21, 2022 • 53min
Why do all bands seem ludicrous apart from the ones you personally like?
Piping hot topics fondly booted round the park this week include … are any actors ever convincing when playing a famous rock star? Does it matter if movies “based on a true story” are largely fiction? Why David’s never got on with Love’s Forever Changes. Did Entertainment Weekly exist just to provide a pleasant lifestyle for the people who worked on it? Plus … the connection between Captain Beefheart and blue cheese, Eddie Izzard’s drilling cats, memorable art theft, tambourine players in rock and another great story about ‘Under My Thumb’ being played at a wedding reception. And birthday-partying patrons David Carroll and Adrian Ainsworth put their questions to the panel and flag up Japan and ‘Strange Kind of Love’ by Love And Money. Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis …https://youtu.be/OWi2lFLe4Cg Inventing Anna …https://youtu.be/65xa8TG2G8oThe Duke …https://youtu.be/65xa8TG2G8oSubscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon and receive every future Word Podcast before the rest of the world - and with full visuals!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 14, 2022 • 55min
Does anyone capture the spirit of a place better than Van Morrison’s Belfast? – plus some underrated ‘70s tracks
Among the items for your distraction and entertainment this week … Do people still form bands? The tangled story of the Aqualung artwork. The skull-cracking number of albums released every day. Instructions on record sleeves – “Horslips: “file under reasonably popular”. The Atom Heart Mother cow. The Wagatha Christie legal costs. Art critics’ lofty pronouncements about the fate of “the average band”. The link between the 12-inch sleeve and the shield of the native American warrior. And the thrilling and imminent arrival of David Hepworth’s 4-CD compilation ‘Deep 70s: Underrated Cuts From A Misunderstood Decade’ and the monstrous fun he had compiling it (paging Patto, Sharks, Bridget St John …). Plus birthday patreon guest Nick Foreman calls a meeting. David Hepworth’s Deep ‘70s compilation …https://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/catalogue/releases/david-hepworth-deep-70s-underrated-cuts-from-a-misunderstood-decade-signed-edition/ https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon and receive every future Word Podcast before the rest of the world - and with full visuals!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 8, 2022 • 42min
The story of Don Henley’s the Boys of Summer, £10k headphones and ‘I’m Getting Buried In The Morning’ …
In the crosshairs this week … how Mike Campbell’s masterpiece was almost eaten by machinery, who made five great albums in five years?, “a mix is never finished it’s merely abandoned”, Robert Plant at Kidderminster Harriers, hand-written notes from Half Man Half Biscuit, god bless Alex Harvey, the expulsion of the vax-free Woody Woodmansey and birthday guest Keith Adsley explains the Temple of Seitan. Mike Campbell talks about the Boys Of Summer …https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxBYBnPJfGQSubscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon and receive every Word Podcast before the rest of the world - and with full visuals!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.