Word In Your Ear

Rockfield is a converted farmhouse in the Welsh countryside where, for over 50 years, bands have lived while recording. In the ‘70s Tiffany Murray’s mum was the in-house cook, filling Motorhead to the brim with boeuf bourguignon and Black Sabbath with salmon en croute. Her touching memoir My Family And Other Rock Stars – hailed as “a rock and roll Cider With Rosie” – sees a succession of visiting bands though the wide eyes of a child and in a wholly new light - Freddie Mercury is the man who “smelt of sweet wood and oranges” and was nice to her dog, Julian Cope is “pretty and dressed in a white sheet”. It’s a movie waiting to happen. We loved this highly original and revealing book and our conversation with Tiff which involves … … the ‘Saffy from Ab Fab’ relationship she had with her mum who began her professional life spying on the Duchess of Argyll from a wardrobe. … floppy hats, Biba dresses and a purple beach buggy. … the only woman who recorded at Rockfield in the ‘70s. … the realisation that the men singing “Galileo” repeatedly in the stables were the same people later on Top Of The Pops. … her mother’s Book Of Rules for visiting rock stars, “a matron in the body of Julie Christie in Darling”. … ample proof that rock music allows a life of extended adolescence. … shelved albums and unpaid bills. … Tiff’s stepfather and in-house Rockfield producer Fritz Fryer. … Nick Lowe through the eyes of a 10 year-old – “tall, kind and looked like a bird”. ... Graham Parker’s trout in almonds and how the cook was paid extra “just to get food into Lemmy”. … and mentioned in despatches – Squeeze, the Tyla Gang, Showaddywaddy, Van Der Graaf Generator and Dr Feelgood. Order ‘My Family And Other Rock Stars' here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Other-Rock-Stars-groundbreaking/dp/0349727538Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Blake calls Dreams: the Many Lives of Fleetwood Mac a “mosaic biography”, their almost six-decade saga presented as a series of enthralling short stories with titles like ‘Mick Fleetwood’s Great Epiphany’ and ‘Rumours: A Doomed Romance in Six Acts’. It opens in fact with a “cast of characters”, the 18 one-time members, as if dramatis personae in a play, a play that gets more outlandish and dumbfounding with every new discovery and much of it based on his interviews and meetings with most of them (including Peter Green). A few highlights here … … how Stevie Nicks arrived as the spare part of a package deal and rose to become indispensable. … the fake Fleetwood Mac and the Jeremy Spencer and Peter Green impersonators (which involves an egg and potato farmer from Essex). … why you should watch the Tusk video repeatedly (and its ruinous cost).  … Bill Clinton, Daisy Jones & the Six, the dancing pony, Guardians of the Galaxy and other key factors in the return of the Mac.    … from model to muse to psychotherapist, the story of the real life Black Magic Woman. … “Oh Lord, she’s writing another song.” … internal romantic tangles that give their music a poignancy. … the horrors of Kiln House. … Lyndsey Buckingham’s Armani/Clash episode. … Stevie’s love affair with Derek Taylor who then had to promote a slow-selling album containing a secret song about it. … Mick Fleetwood, “old ham”, drag act, compulsive show-off, unsuitable band manager.   Order ‘Dreams: the Many Lives of Fleetwood Mac’ here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dreams-Many-Lives-Fleetwood-Mac/dp/1639367322Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beloved Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith, old pal of the pod, is touring the UK in November, two of the nights at the Palladium, and looks back here at the first shows he saw and played himself. Which delights include … … what you learn playing Canadian bars aged 16. … seeing Elton John in a 75,000-seater stadium when he was 12. … early memories of the Kinks and the Who. … why every gig is “a mini-battle”. … Bob Dylan’s courage to do what the crowd don’t expect. … original fans in middle-age: they’re back and they bring their kids! … why a support tour with Robyn Hitchcock took him in a new direction. … exotic wild ‘critters’ in his yard in Ontario. … and how the UK launched his international career. Tickets from: https://ronsexsmith.com/tours/  Ron’s ‘Cobblestone Runway’ and ‘Retriever’ albums have just been re-released.Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Passing the baton of discourse on the rock and roll racetrack, our Olympian hosts sprint in the following direction … … watching Toumani Diabaté play in the pitch-black Malian night. … Laurel Canyon, the Brain Damage Club and the great fire of ‘79. … the Kinks in Fortis Green Road, the Beatles in Chiswick House and other alternative London rock landmarks. … is Cerrone’s Supernature nicked from the Days Of Pearly Spencer? … lower-level graduates from the John Mayall Academy – Jon Hiseman, Keef Hartley, Larry Taylor, Aynsley Dunbar – and how being sacked from the Bluesbreakers was a badge of honour. … why do songwriters value suffering over joy? … “the more seriously someone takes musical taste, the more you should disregard them”. … what connects Bob Dylan and the Life of Brian? … a blueser from Preston in a Sioux headdress and one from Macclesfield pretending to hop a freight train.   … and why “song and dance man” Leadbelly had to play “complaining songs”. Plus Birthday guest Gianluca Tramontana. The Beatles at Chiswick House:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvvVNaU_qa8Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once again the ping-pong ball of conversation is batted across the rock and roll net and these are the scores on the doors …  … how to wreck the national anthem. … cover versions that are better than the original. … the genius of Bob Newhart - "nutty Walt", Abraham Lincoln and that gag about country music. … virtue signalling in rock magazines. … why we connect with pop stars on the slide. … how Tainted Love went from the Northern Clubs to the top of the American charts via a cloakroom in Leeds. … Ingrid Andress and the curse of ‘cursive singing’. … the comedy album that saved Warners Brothers Records. … parenthood and Bruce Springsteen: “the world of love and the world of fear – and they’re the same world”. … who’d rather Elvis Costello played (whisper it) other people’s songs? … have there been any great album sleeves since the arrival of CDs? … why Don Rickles and Bob Newhart’s friendship proves all showbiz is just an act. ... musicians, athletes, comedians, politicians and the addiction of adrenaline. Rolling Stone’s 100 best album covers:https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-album-covers-1235035232/#recipient_hashed=228eb87724435002888d7f82108650021cdb318bf64d1067e1ebef25cd1818de&recipient_salt=d0d82b7aaf06cd217ba5546bced15f5c8c98f6e3776c6c1b2145e79711b91e18Find out more about how to help us keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s something romantic about glorious failure and Will nails it perfectly in ‘Street Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence’. Over 40 years plagued by bad luck and self-sabotage with Felt, Denim and Mozart Estate, Lawrence has pursued fame and success while refusing to do what’s required to achieve them. Will spent 12 months wandering the streets of London with him to paint a fond, touching and extremely entertaining portrait of the worst-equipped pop star attempting a comeback, a man on a holy, monastic mission in a book about “sacrifice and the price of a dream”. Among many highlights here, we talk about … … where Lawrence fits in the pantheon of great underachievers like Syd Barrett, Nick Drake and Arthur Lee. … and his similarity to Kevin Shields and Kevin Rowland. … the wisdom of a former girlfriend: “stop trying to be the pop star you don’t want to be and you might get somewhere”. … is lack of success the central dream of the indie world?   … why Denim were Britpop before Britpop happened and why EMI melted down all copies of their last single. … his rules before the book began - “No anecdotes, no interviews with former members of Felt …” … what his stalker planned to get his attention. … fantasy girlfriends and “a fear of cheese”. … why he didn’t go to his mother’s funeral. … and why Truman Capote’s portrait of Marlon Brando, the Duke and His Domain, was a touchstone for this book. Order ‘Street Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence’ here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Street-Level-Superstar-Lawrence-Will-Hodgkinson/dp/1785120220Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Employing controversial VAR technology, we re-examine various events on the rock and roll pitch and suggest a new perspective. Those key moments include …  … the “bucolic frolic” at Knebworth 50 years ago as seen from 100 yards away just past the burger van and featuring Tim Buckley, Alex Harvey, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Van Morrison, the Doobie Brothers and the Allman Brothers Band. And a stark naked Jesus. … when did the Age of Spectacle begin? … how Two-Way Family Favourites helped start Live Aid. … Waters v Gilmour, a feud way beyond candour and honesty.   … the moment Van Morrison first became ‘Captain Letdown’. … memories of Wembley Stadium on July 13 1985 – Status Quo, U2, the non-appearance of Cat Stevens, the planned link with Ian Botham at Trent Bridge and swapping Tony Hancock lines with a man on Concorde. ... the three stages of rock and roll. … life before mobile phones. … The Revenant and Zone Of Interest, films that feel like the past without trying to make the past look cool. … “the older I get, the older I wanna get”. … Joni Mitchell and why we love an old curmudgeon. … and birthday guest Andrew Stocks wonders why some bands can’t bury the hatchet.Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Broadcaster and music writer Ann Powers lives in Nashville and grew up listening to Kate Bush and Blondie. The siren call of Blue sparked a life-long and deep-rooted devotion and her new book Travelling: On The Path Of Joni Mitchell takes a different tack from the standard biographies, mapping the context of the songs, the forces that drove her, the steel will it took to succeed and the love affairs that shaped her and her music. All discussed here. As is this ... … the scale of your ambition when your heroes are Nietzsche, Beethoven and Picasso. … how she got her revenge for not being allowed to go to Woodstock. … “she had to learn to walk three times”. … the psychological impact of her “dynamic father and homemaker mother”.… the love affairs with Leonard Cohen, David Crosby and Graham Nash. … her capacity to turn disaster into triumph. … the influence of Laurel Canyon neighbour Derek Taylor and the Beatles. … the many reasons she declared the music business “a corrupt cesspool”. … the tone of Rolling Stone’s ‘70s coverage and the letters she wrote to Mo Austin about the way she was marketed. … David Crosby’s regret about not involving her in Crosby Stills & Nash. … her reaction to the continued success of Tom Petty, Peter Gabriel and Don Henley in a world where mid-career women are “put out to pasture”. … why the current renaissance seems “all legend, no bite”.  … and Laura Nyro, Tom Rush, Judy Collins, Patti Smith, Aretha Franklin, Maggie Roach, Stevie Wonder, Thomas Dolby. Order Travelling: On the Path Of Joni Mitchell here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Travelling-Path-Mitchell-Ann-Powers/dp/0008332967Find out more about how to help us keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first EPs appeared in the late ‘40s and ‘50s (Frank Sinatra, Elvis) hitting a magical sweet spot between the album and the single and they’ve cast a spell ever since, an exotic reminder that record labels are part of the packaged goods business. Music writer Corey duBrowa stumbled across one by Oingo Boingo in the original Licorice Pizza store in Long Beach, California, when he was 13 and began a lifelong collection that eventually led to ‘An Ideal For Living: a Celebration of the EP’, a book full of fabulous sleeve art and seven decades of 3- and 4-track classics. He talks here about every aspect of EP World and flags up some favourites, among them ones by the Goons, the Beatles, Donovan, Alice In Chains, Buzzcocks, the Clash, the Stones, Ice Cube, ‘A Factory Sample’, the Pogues, the EP that topped the album chart and a Joy Division disc worth $7,000. Order ‘An Ideal For Living’ here:https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rock and roll ballot-box is stuffed with votes and the exit polls suggest how this week’s debate might play out. Along these lines … … is there still such a thing as British music? … John Lennon as a lavatory attendant. … Pink Floyd’s miming lessons. .. how Neil Finn cheered up the All Blacks. … the staggering difference in the UK album charts in the weeks the last two Labour Prime Ministers were elected (1997 and 2024) - male British bands v international female solo acts. … ‘Starman’ on Top Of The Pops and the tricks it plays on the memory. … “current chart acts are either in the spotlight or don’t seem to exist at all.” … the wit and wisdom of James Blunt. .. the Herd’s guest spot in the Tom Courtenay caper Otley. … the Phil Collins syndrome: “when people are tired of duffing up pop stars, they tend to re-embrace them”. … plus birthday guest Richard Lewis and songs that should be longer – eg Dancing the Night Away by the Motors, I Can Fly by the Herd (cue military bugle and church bell and choir).Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.