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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 tho ...
Interviews, music from Charm City's scene
In the event of the temporary indisposition of Mr Mark Henry Ellen his part is taken for today's podcast by Mr Alexander Karl Gold and he and David Hepworth talk on the subject of which other songwriter-band leaders might arguably give Ray Davies a run for his money when it comes to sustained creation of brilliant singles, what it's like to go to D…
... a Valentine's Day Special (which naturally involves Jackie DeShannon and Lucinda Williams), the curious case of Bruce Springsteen, the Jeep ad and the shot of tequila, and the 50th birthday of Tapestry. Plus Stack Waddy: 'leafy English village or colourful minor celebrity?' and 'Tom Waits track or story by Damon Runyon?' Want exclusive early ac…
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Tom Lehrer, payola and the Midnight Train to Georgia
42:59
42:59
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In which we navigate by way of pay-for-play bribery, Elvis Costello's mum, the songs the Bonzos taught us, the man who helped cook the Beatles' books, the eternal trials of posh pop stars, and Farrah Fawcett-Majors and the story of the Midnight Plane To Houston. And play 'Pulp song or episode of Are You Being Served?' The Bee Gees record a message …
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The story about Phil Collins, George Harrison and the congas ...
58:28
58:28
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In which the conversational spotlight alights upon the great Hilton Valentine (RIP), adventures with the KLF, Phil Collins' disastrous session for All Things Must Pass, DJ EZ's marathon, Clare Torry on the Great Gig In The Sky, Carey Mulligan v Variety magazine and John Otway's version of House of the Rising Sun. Plus be prepared to play ... "Rave …
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Where Dolly and Phil Spector meet PG Wodehouse ...
55:23
55:23
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A snow-filled scenic ramble featuring the appeal of Dolly Parton for the under-fives, the Cilla Black/Phil Spector chart battle of '65 (and Phil's unsettling appearance at the Q Awards), a John Lennon birthday lunch in Paris, the post-Brexit future for musicians on tour, Midge Ure, Tucky Buzzard and Eddie Izzard ... plus a bracing round of 'Wodehou…
In which we're joined by Sam Pope - the man who shantyised Eminem - on the new mass appeal of seafaring folk tunes, applaud the value of Happy Music (and name the tracks that never let you down), wonder why no-one's made a biopic about Fleetwood Mac, Blondie or the Ramones, and watch Fran Lebowitz in Pretend It's A City and wish we could have had b…
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Neil Young and the concert that invented 'the whoop'
42:41
42:41
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In which we tell the story of James Taylor's tattoo, Bowie's coded message to Hermione, Tracy Chapman v Nicki Ninaj, Gerry Marsden stealing George Harrison's girlfriend, and the real life girls from Valerie and My Sharona - plus bracing rounds of 'Republican Senator or Country Music star?' and 'Joanna Newsom song title or vegetarian restaurant in B…
Surely the only podcast on God’s Earth that covers Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera, Pulp’s Disco 2000, Zulu, voter fraud in Citizen Kane, Mother’s club in Birmingham, Prudence Farrow, the Alan Parsons Project, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly!, the Maharishi, ‘Lennon Remembers’, Gothmog (lieutenant of Morgul) and ‘Is it a craft beer or a Mercury Prize Nominee?’ …
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To the sunlit uplands of the new Let It Be movie!
45:27
45:27
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Surely the only podcast that's ever included tantalising Beatles film outtakes, the knock-down sale of Michael Jackson's Neverland, 'the Great Fatsby' by Leslie West, Frank Sinatra, E17 with sleigh bells and and Ladbaby's We Built This City On Sausage Rolls. Plus we play energetic rounds of 'Farrow & Ball paint colour or Tyrannosaurus Rex track?' a…
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Word Podcast 364 - in stout defence of the Bee Gees
48:55
48:55
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In which we dust down a great new Bee Gees doc (How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?), applaud Bill Bailey, remember the absurdity of the Best Guitarist polls (and then name our favourite guitarists), mine the folklore of John Le Carre for possible band names (the Scalphunters, Madame Ostrakova), shake down the ‘river of dimes’ world of music copyright…
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Word Podcast 363 - $300m for Dylan catalogue "a bargain"
47:08
47:08
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In which we salute the Taylor Swift publicity machine and the "sixth Stone" Ian Stewart, marvel at the money-spinning value of song copyrights (Dylan, Gershwin, Third Man Theme etc), listen to albums in the dark, point up McCartney's superhuman achievement on June 14 1965 and spot fictitious music magazines (the Amazing Pudding?) and emo bands (Moo…
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Word Podcast 362 - does anyone form a band any more?
49:55
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Choice items discussed include Dua Lipa's 5-million-tickets-sold online show, the full list of Altamont catastrophes, the magic of the rock press 'on the road' feature, Maslow's hierarchy of needs (oh yes!), Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter's move into military defence and US Spy Satellites, David's disastrous cinema outing, whether going to gigs is now largely…
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Word Podcast 361 - & when did YOU last listen to Apple Jam?
54:12
54:12
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In which we look at pop conspiracy theories (eg Britney Spears), the Christmas songs that work for 2020, the 36 different versions of the new McCartney album, the howling mundanity of Arsene Wenger's Desert Island Discs, folk box-sets made in China, Gary Barlow in Sainsbury's, "America's truth crisis" and mangled celebrity band names. And the time …
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Word Podcast 360 - George Clooney's $14m hand-out: the Movie
46:38
46:38
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In which we fantasise about what happened after Clooney gave 14 friends $1m in cash, note the sale of Dylan's private letters, miss the great North London record shops, unravel Radio 1 v the Pogues, pitch pop stars' dogs against Nigerian Highlife entertainers and name the second greatest Christmas record ever made.--------------Want to receive this…
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Word Podcast 359 - for the love of Bo Diddley
48:04
48:04
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Acts that wrote songs about themselves (Animals, Monkees, Manfreds, Devo, NWA, Ants etc), Lloyd Cole does handwritten lyrics to order, the welding of Bob Dylan, Des O'Connor's UK tour with Buddy Holly, the West Wing v The Thick Of It, amusingly named skate-punk bands and does Terminator X own a black ostrich stud farm in North Carolina?Want to rece…
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Word Podcast 358 - best track on the Beatles' #1 revealed!
42:01
42:01
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On the menu this week - the genius of the late Geoffrey Palmer in the Kipper And The Corpse and Reginald Perrin ('rum cove, Johnny Woman' etc), four anniversary albums - Badfinger's No Dice (Nov '70), Prince's Dirty Mind ('80), the Traveling Wilburys' Vol 3 ('90) and the Beatles' #1 (2000), pop careers that kicked off early, fictitious new age grou…
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Word Podcast 357 - Andy Neill on Ready, Steady, Go!
37:08
37:08
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In which the author of 'Ready Steady Go!: the Weekend Starts Here' talks about the show that revolutionised pop TV - the people who made it, the acts that appeared, the dancers, the clothes, the James Brown shock-the-nation-special, the Troggs auditioning in reception, the '60s scene-makers packing its Green Room and how it captured what Mick Jagge…
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Word Podcast 356 - when Sean Connery met Carly Simon
35:17
35:17
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In which we tell the real story of Stardust (the new Bowie biopic), lampoon Kanye West's Kardashian hologram, brace ourselves for the arrival of 'synthetic media', dream up the fictional indie band generator, name some great autumnal albums (eg the Finn Brothers' Everyone Is Here) and remember Roger Moore and Dorothy Squires' cavalier mistreatment …
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Word Podcast 355 - it was 40 years ago today ...
36:51
36:51
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In which we salute Jerry Jeff 'Mr Bojangles' Walker and Spencer Davis (at the ABC in Wakefield!), comedians with catchphrase singles, the marketing genius of Lily Allen and the grand tradition of pop songs about - how can we put this? - "self-love".Want to receive this - and every future - Word Podcast before the rest of the world, and in full audi…
Rob Halford - still proudly "a big daft kid" - remembers old music hall acts at the Wolverhampton Grand, wearing polyester suits and kipper ties when the manager of Harry Fenton's, slogging round Europe in a Transit van, booze, drugs, bullwhips, "being head-to-toe in leather", standing in for Ozzy, coming out on MTV and "wearing my sister's purple …
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Word Podcast 353 - can you be too handsome for rock & roll?
40:57
40:57
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In which we remember Peter Frampton and the second golden age of the Scream Idols (and his hard-nosed manager Dee Anthony), are weirdly gripped by the recent screening of Cliff's Summer Holiday, look at rock stars' cars, Krautrock acts and rejected album titles, and name "the shabbiest sleeve notes ever written".Want to receive this - and indeed ev…
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Word Podcast 352 - our favourite '80s albums
46:30
46:30
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In which we salute National Album Day by digging out some much loved '80s LPs, the Telegraph’s Neil McCormick tells us about the tyranny critics now endure from aggrieved pop fans and we invent fictitious Emo bands and live album titles.To receive this - and indeed every future - Word Podcast before the rest of the world, and in glorious audio-visu…
In which we unearth NME's best albums and singles polls from the '70s (Jethro Tull? Spirit? Country Joe?), invent fictitious Calypso and Blues stars, rave about Call My Agent, remember Lennon's Aunt Mimi and Steve Strange versus Mick Jagger, wonder if it's curtains for the age of the movie star and hear our producer Magic Alex on the joys of "flyin…
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Word Podcast 350 - do we still need Greatest Album lists?
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42:59
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We look at Rolling Stone's new Best 500 Albums update and think ... where's the 80s? Where's the British stuff? Where's the jazz, country, dance music, electronic, heavy metal? Is it just the classics plus hip-hop? Is it as useful as Elvis Costello's Best 500 albums in Vanity Fair or Dave Marsh's 1001 singles? Plus Michael Kiwanuka, the Mercury Pri…
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Word Podcast 349 - famous records whose timing speeds up
31:23
31:23
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Old pal Owen Parker on Street Life, Message In A Bottle, Superstition and other recordings that accelerate and the nightmarish complexity of playing stadiums to a click-track. Plus we predict the fate of CDs, invent 'record collection wallpaper' and look at Vertigo label landfill prog bands and the songs of John Shuttleworth.If you'd like to receiv…
