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
Dec 5, 2019 • 59min
Word Podcast 311 - Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis was very lucky Elton John chose him to help tell the story in his best-selling memoir "Me". Elton John's equally lucky Alexis agreed because without him it probably wouldn't be half as good as it is. In fact it's two stories: the first is the story of a musical career that seems to be headed nowhere until a chance meeting with a lyricist began a partnership which operated in an unprecedented way and led to unprecedented success; the other is a personal story of how a very tense little boy from Pinner grew to be able to afford all the addictions on a Pharaonic scale, managed to conquer them and belatedly found contentment in a state that wasn't even invented when he was first a superstar. Every home should have a copy because everyone in that home would find at least some of it jaw-dropping. Alexis told us what it was like to write and what he learned about life in the process. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 5, 2019 • 54min
Word Podcast 310 - Barney Hoskyns
On December 7th Thomas Alan Waits celebrates his 70th birthday and to mark that occasion we asked Barney Hoskyns, the author of his biography "Lowside Of The Road", to talk about what makes Waits one of the rare examples of a misfit who has prospered on his own terms. It's all here: developing his shtick entertaining the line of customers outside, choosing to dress in a way that had gone out of style twenty years before, living his character twenty four hours a day, being taken in hand both personally and professionally somewhat late in the day and eventually becoming a success on his own terms. Barney thinks he as important an artist as the 20th century has produced. He came along to explain why. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 18, 2019 • 52min
Word Podcast 309 - Andrew Collins
It's always good to welcome Andrew Collins back to the pod. Andrew was with us most recently to talk about the new edition of his official biography of Billy Bragg. This time he's got his movie hat on, as befits the man who writes about films for the Radio Times and presents "Saturday Night At The Movies" on Classic FM. Since 2019 has been such a bumper year for music biopics we asked him to remind us what are the best of breed in ten categories ranging from fiction to festivals and everything inbetween. You probably won't agree with it all but it will probably leave you determined to have a look on Netflix and search out some overlooked classic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 18, 2019 • 56min
Word Podcast 308 - Graham Parker
Graham Parker had an unusual career trajectory. "I didn't pay my dues until after I had some success," he says. In the wake of his greatest triumph, 1979's "Squeezing Out Sparks", he broke up his partnership with the Rumour and moved to America. Here he was the unwitting beneficiary of a record business which had difficulty adapting to a changed world. In the 80s and 90s, he says, they actually gave him too much money. A few years back he resumed his partnership with the Rumour, who were all present and correct and all got on with each other, a state of affairs almost unique in rock and roll. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 15, 2019 • 35min
Word Podcast 307 - Dylan Jones
The big hit records of today are assembled. The great records of 1968 were made. In a few cases they just happened, seemingly brought into being by some higher power over and above the efforts of any one individual. In his new book “Wichita Lineman: Searching In The Sun For The World's Greatest Unfinished Song” Dylan Jones traces the combination of inspiration and chance which makes this “the world’s greatest unfinished song” and, more to the point, arguably the greatest pop record ever made. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 15, 2019 • 47min
Word Podcast 306 - Daniel Rachel
Daniel Rachel talked to everyone from Noel Gallagher to Tony Blair for his new book “Don’t Look Back In Anger” and he came in to Word In Your Ear to talk about how Kate Moss, David Beckham, Alan Macgee, Damien Hirst, Alastair Campbell and many others, knowingly or otherwise, managed to shape Britain’s last feelgood decade, which began with Spike Island and finished with the death of Diana. We guarantee, this will change the way you think about the era you lived through. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 21, 2019 • 52min
Word Podcast 305 - Dave Lewis
When Dave Lewis first went to see Led Zeppelin at the Empire Pool, Wembley in 1971 it cost him 75p. When they played their final show at the O2 in 2007 he was on Robert Plant's guest list. From the germ of his teenage scrapbook he built a small empire, based on his fanzine "Tight But Loose", which has produced a staggering range of titles dedicated to every aspect of Led Zeppelin's career. His book "Evenings With Led Zeppelin" has the distinction of being literally the heaviest book ever to feature on "Word In Your Ear". Dave came in to the Islington to talk about what got him excited in 1971 and, as you'll hear, still excites him today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 21, 2019 • 51min
Word Podcast 304 - Ian Penman
For more than forty years Ian Penman has been one of the best writers about music in the country. His new book, "It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track", is made up of essays about James Brown, Prince, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, John Fahey and other musicians who have a strange fascination for him. Ian came to the Islington to talk about his career as a writer, the book and his plan to write a book about searching for music in charity shops. Be warned. This is the kind of book that will send you straight back to your records to listen for things that you've been missing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 24, 2019 • 53min
Word Podcast 303 - Will Birch
Is Nick Lowe the only musician of his generation who has actually got better as he’s got older? How did he survive the Famepushers hype? How did England’s most laid-back musician become the Midas of the punk era? What’s the secret of his success as a producer? What does he understand that most other musicians don’t? Will Birch, a musician himself, has known him a long time, and has written “Cruel To Be Kind”, the definitive biography of one of our great musical institutions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 24, 2019 • 51min
Word Podcast 302 - Peter Doggett
Fifty years ago to the week the first Crosby, Stills and Nash LP was released in the UK, holding out the prospect of brotherly love in close harmony. Thus begun half a century of bitter infighting, chemical and sexual excess, regular break-ups and tearful reunions, all of which is documented in lip-smacking detail in “Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young” by one of our favourite authors Peter Doggett. He came along to the Islington to talk to Mark and David about it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
