Word In Your Ear

What’s the word ‘punk’ come to mean 50 years later? It’s been adopted by the very people it sought to unsettle. Chris Sullivan – DJ, club runner, lecturer, former band-leader – arrived in London just as it kicked off and looks back at a time when everything was a challenge, no-one apologised, outsiders linked up and fought for recognition, and pop culture could change overnight. We talk to him here about ‘Punk: the Last Word’ which traces its roots from Socrates to Soho, touching on… … does ‘punk’ now mean conformity? … is pop music still allowed to be outrageous? … Socrates, Rimbaud, Lee Miller, the Warhol superstars: 2,000 years of people who embody the punk philosophy … how the clothes often precede the music … the 1975 pre-Pistols world – “people dressing as teddy boys, Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, records by Patti Smith, the Velvets, MC5” … the days when you were attacked for dressing up, in his case by the Newport Rugby team and a guy with a starting handle at a service station ... new punk equivalents emerging in 2025 … how the spirit of punk gave people a drive and identity – Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Jonathan Ross, John Galliano  … “I threw a policeman through a plate-glass window” Order ‘Punk: the Last Word’ here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/punk/stephen-colegrave/chris-sullivan/9781915841254Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

UK Subs formed in 1976 when Charlie Harper was 32. They’ve had over 80 members, some of whom he can’t remember. They never split up and are touring in 2026 to celebrate his 82nd birthday. “I vowed I’d keep playing as long at the Stones - which I’m now starting to regret!” After 50 years on the punk frontline, he’s the first to see the humour in going deaf and “having to have the occasional sit-down”. This fond and honest conversation looks back at … … seeing the Stones at Ken Colyers’ jazz club and drinking with them in the Porcupine … making £4 a day – “a fortune” – playing tube stations in 1964: “ex-buskers never get stagefright”  … “dreadlocks, Afros, convoy cuts” – confessions of a teenage hairdresser … what he learnt from Joe Strummer and the 101-ers … his punk epiphany: seeing the Damned at the Roxy in 1976 … playing France’s Hellfest to 30,000 people and why the spirit of ‘77 still burns on the West Coast … famous fans: Guns N’Roses, Hanoi Rocks, Dinosaur Jnr … the UK Subs’ run-in with US Immigration … skiffle, Jesse Fuller, Woody Guthrie, Big Bill Broonzy, Donovan and mid-‘70s R&B …the onstage rigours of getting old: “I don’t get adrenaline anymore and have to have the occasional sit-down!” … Where Did I Leave My Glasses? Why Did I Come Upstairs? – our fantasy tracks for the senior citizen! Order UK Subs tickets here: https://ww.uksubstimeandmatter.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16899&Itemid=161Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The boys of the NYPD choir are still singing Galway Bay, so pour yourself a measure of the Rare Old Mountain Dew and warm your toes on the following … … Steve Lillywhite (in Bali!) remembers making Fairytale Of New York and how “a fiery redhead” kicked the Chrissie Hynde duet into touch … the most recent singer-songwriter you could call “a ledge”? … records we loved in our 20s but now feel a bit embarrassing   … “discipline and economy, tension and release”: the immortal twangs and tweaks of Steve Cropper and how the MGs redefined the idea of a great record … Green Onions, I Thank You by Sam & Dave and the white heat of Otis Blue’s 24-hour recording ... Tim Buckley’s Greatest Misses ... performative listening: the exquisite awkwardness of the album playback! … the link between Imogen Heap and the Hissing of Summer Lawns … Jon Bon Jovi’s version of Fairytale – “so bad they had to turn the YouTube comments off!” … plus Gram Parsons, the cult of the Blues Brothers, the Monochrome Set and a quiz from birthday guest Peter Petyt: spot the Hepworth/Ellen reviews of yesteryear! The new live version of Fairytale of New York: http://pogues.lnk.to/FONYLiveGlasgow1987 Josh Smith demonstrating Steve Cropper’s guitar parts: https://youtu.be/LJEIwggKAsg?si=29weA4tBQE6ccj1-Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1963, Capitol Records considered the Beatles “a band who looked and sounded weird with an odd name and no leader” and refused to release their records in America, despite being owned by EMI. As author Andrew Cook points out, “the truth is stranger than fiction”. New correspondence unearthed in his fascinating Capitol Gains maps out the tortuous wranglings of the deal-makers and “pantomime bad guys” behind the greatest and most successful marketing hype in history, all jockeying to take credit and manage their reputations. Some highlights here … … the truth behind Epstein’s mythical phone calls … “the more successful the Beatles were, the more Capitol were proving themselves wrong” … why 1966 was the band’s “Last Supper” … “from the Battle of Hastings to World War 2 to the Beatles ... it’s the winners who rewrite history” … the American 12-track rule and how they repackaged product “to give it more grab” … the Beatles’ commercial fate if they’d never been successful in the States … the pitiful (standard) original EMI deal – “18.75 of a penny per group member for every album” … the “Butcher sleeve”: how 750,000 were printed and the fortune lost in “Operation Retrieve”. And the Capitol exec whose kids made $1.5m from copies stashed in his garage … how Epstein was contracted to make 25 per cent of all Beatles monies ‘til 1975  … Bob Dylan’s tangential role in the signing of the Beatles to Capitol … and the “cowboy film” that nearly happened. Order Capitol Gains here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Capitol-Gains-Beatles-Conquered-America/dp/1803997281Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Glorious news! The Undertones, dependable symbols of eternal youth, are setting out on a 50th anniversary tour in 2026, still playing Teenage Kicks and Here Comes the Summer in their mid-60s. Damian O’Neill joined when he was 14 and can’t believe it either. He looks back here at … … their first gig in a scout hall - “Feargal was a Scout leader!” - and their second for 1,000 schoolkids at St Joseph’s in Derry … the world-wide appeal of their Irish identity and why “America never got us” … David’s memories of interviewing them for Smash Hits in 1979 the day they thought “we’re finished” ... “We were anti-pretension!” … seeing Horslips, Rory Gallagher, the Blockheads, Eddie & the Hot Rods and the Lurkers … joining the band at 14 and playing Beatles, Stones, Them, Cream and Dr Feelgood covers … parkas, Millets jeans and the Derry boot-boy look. “If you dressed up in those days you ran the risk of getting your head kicked in”  … being in the band’s HQ the night Peel played Teenage Kicks twice in a row … songs about “love and lack of love” – and girls and chocolate … how it feels to be on Top Of The Pops and then watch your single go down the charts … their first visit to a studio (Wizard in Belfast) and self-producing Teenage Kicks with just an engineer – and still playing it in your mid-60s … and a heartfelt apology to the people of Blackburn! Order tickets for the Undertones 50th Anniversary tour here: https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/the-undertones-tickets/artist/959984Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty pounds of headlines plus rants, theories and the odd slice of old hokum: served hot. Which this week involves … … Jimmy Cliff and how his versatility worked against him … the Conjuror? Eyeball Tickler? The Concert in the Egg? Hieronymus Bosch painting or late-period Oasis B-side? … Motown, Jacksons, Beatles, Chili Peppers? What’s the greatest bassline on record? … what you notice watching the new Beatles’ Anthology 4 ... why the leading edge of novelty is the internet … from Eddie Cochran to the Bonzos, Can, Hawkwind, Costello and Stone Roses: the pioneering life of label-boss Andrew Lauder … when did it become impossible to date records by their sound? And when did they stop sounding like glorious accidents? … Joan Armatrading? Carole King? Dido? Which singer-songwriters are legends? … what’s “stuck culture”? … is Tomorrow Never Knows the only one-chord wonder? … the link between Good Times, Another One Bites the Dust and Rapper’s Delight … whalebone corsets, butchers’ knives: Nick Cave and the art of 18th century lyric-writing … “Graham Coxon was a trumpet player and plays the guitar like a trumpet!” Plus birthday guest Kevin Walsh: which musicians are freaks and which cheerleaders? Hear Wilton Felder’s isolated bass on the Jackson 5’s’ I Want You Back’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z91l_lPz1ocHelp us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Boo Hewerdine, beloved singer-songwriter, has been onstage for 40 years in venues of every type, shape and size. He thinks of himself as a “tradesman”, a world that’s immensely satisfying but a tough call. This very funny, poignant podcast paints a vivid picture of the best and worst of times. Which include … … playing scout huts, libraries, churches, folk clubs and the Palladium … the world’s best dressing-room (it’s in Stroud) and worst venue (Pittsburgh) … “the engine inside you that makes you want to be onstage” … places that only suit “a lute being played with a feather”  … a home birthday show with no audience and the chilling lyrics of Chris Difford’s ‘Round The Houses’ … the joy of writing for commission … seeing Dr Feelgood in 1975 … what’s satisfying what gives you pause for thought … the brilliant Ballad Of Wallis Island, streaky bacon as a bookmark and the kind of Travelodge with a bottle-opener attached to the desk. All things Boo: https://boohewerdine.com / @boohewerdine ‘Things Found In Books’: https://yvonnelyon.bandcamp.com/album/things-found-in-booksHelp us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

News, rants, theories and curios which this week includes …. … how Mani made the Stone Roses swing … Mick & Keith, Meg & Jack, Hall & Oates, Neil & Chris … ‘Sliding Doors’ encounters that changed the landscape … the glorious sound of profanity on records! … what makes you a legend in county music? … the subtle genius of Nicky Hopkins’ session work .. would Elvis have happened without Marion Keisker? … Willie Nelson – “a face like Mount Rushmore, a voice like the whole hinterland of America” … ever catch yourself listening to something and think ‘how would I explain this to an observer?’ … the music you hear when 14 stays with you all your life … the singles charts of 1978 – Terry Wogan next to John Otway! Arthur Mullard and the Stranglers! Nick Lowe and Ally’s Tartan Army! … why Lucinda Williams is an open book … when XTC went pastoral … 42 year-old hears Clear Spot and Raw Power for the first time! ... plus the Wrecking Crew, a Libertines Xmas sweater, birthday guest Dean Roderick and the time Emmylou Harris had two puddings. Pig’s Boogie by the Jerry Garcia Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd0357IsE9kHelp us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Crispian Mills knew he’d be onstage as he’s from a “family of professional show-offs” but they begged him not to be an actor. He talks here about his extraordinary showbusiness childhood and the band that emerged from it full of psychedelia, echoes of the East and warm invitations to join the First Congregational Church of Eternal Love and Free Hugs. Along with … … his mother Hayley Mills playing him Tubular Bells to get him to sleep - “profoundly scary” … Roman Polanski’s ‘special’ Marlboro cigarettes when filming Tess in Brittany … grandfather John Mills being “discovered” by Noel Coward in Singapore and memories of him playing Gershwin and Cole Porter on the piano … “you need talent and hard work but nobody makes it without luck” … what the record store hippie told him when he bought Deep Purple In Rock aged 12 … leather jacket, polka dot shirt, Brian Jones bowl haircut, My Bloody Valentine gig – “I’d found my tribe!” … supporting Oasis at Knebworth – “I couldn’t see how they were going to cut it” … Adam and the Ants, Rock Me Amadeus and playing Ramones songs in the school band … returning from Rishikesh in 1995 and watching the Beatles’ Super-8 clips: “as if we’d been on the same holiday” … nostalgia for the big TV and radio events of the ‘90s … Shirley Manson’s speech about the “tragedy” of the 21st C music business … and Kula Shaker’s Mad Alchemy Liquid Light Show – “oil slides, pure analogue!” Tickets for their 2026 tour here: https://kulashaker.co.uk/pages/liveHelp us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“All bands are sad stories,” Peter Doggett points out, but is there a more woven, moving and, at times, farcical tale than that of the Beach Boys? It gives the sound of them a greater melancholy and resonance with every passing year. As his fascinating new book Surf’s Up reveals, nothing that happened is straightforward and very little as simple as it sounds. We talk here about … … Dennis Wilson and the Beach Boys’ creation myth … what started their revival … why they’d never have survived beyond 1962 without Mike Love … was Derek Taylor’s ‘Brian is a genius’ campaign partly to explain his procrastination and eccentricity? … the chaos of SMiLE and the long shadow of the Beatles … Murry Wilson’s “superstar” ambitions and original plan for the group … the days when they looked like Old Testament prophets or hippies from Central Casting … Dennis and Manson, Carl v the draft, Mike Love’s arrest … scandals that would have sunk them in the days of social media … the “Brian as victim trope” and his extraordinary appearance on “The Tension Behind the Music” … when Bart Simpson turned them down … can anyone name a good Beach Boys album cover? … and the band’s future, a controlled touring franchise with no original members Order Peter Doggett’s ‘Surf’s Up: Brian Wilson & the Beach Boys’ here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Surfs-Up-Brian-Wilson-Beach/dp/1917923341Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five decades of rock and roll with none of the names redacted. In the despatches this week … … Kevin Rowland? Adam Ant? Toyah? Morrissey? Which Smash Hits cover stars are now ‘legends’? … a classic encounter with Van Morrison down a Bristol alley … the boy who mailed dead rodents and Boomtown Rats singles to radio stations became Pope Leo XIV! … 25 recent big-name Hollywood films all flopped. Are robots the new movie stars?… was Sticky Fingers the last Stones album with songs? … best nights out for a tenner … RIP Gilson Lavis and Donna Godchaux ... the daft rituals of the ’70s ‘slow dance’ … when Percy Sledge was a hospital porter … “Run for your life, it’s Eater!” … Tom Waits’ on-brand luggage, Boo Hewerdine and birthday guest Mike Sketch on the joy of gigs on your own (and in a scout hut in Staveley).Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Musicians have flirted with Nazi imagery since the ‘60s, lampooning its theatre, absorbing its style, exploiting its shock value, even promoting its ideology. Daniel Rachel’s new book ‘This Ain’t Rock ‘N’ Roll’ points up extraordinary examples – “from Tommy Steele to Kanye West” - and how our reaction intensified over the years. Which leads us to … … parallels between stadium rock and the Nuremberg rallies … hearing the Sex Pistols’ Belsen Was A Gas and seeing their Nazi insignia at the age of 12 … David Bowie’s German memorabilia and belief that “Hitler was the first rock and roll superstar” – and the doctored photo of his “Nazi salute” at Victoria Station … Bernie Rhodes versus Malcolm McLaren on the “reclaiming of the swastika” … the lyrics and imagery of the Siouxsie & the Banshees … Viv Stanshall and Keith Moon’s atrocious visit to Golders Green ... the German invention of the tape machine that started the record business … “I’m not the Simon Wiesenthal of rock and roll!” … Joy Division, New Order, K-Pop, Brian Jones and his SS uniform, Ron Asheton of the Stooges, John Lennon, Lemmy, Blue Oyster Cult, “Adolf Hitler on vibes”… “Rock and Roll has a duty to recognise its downfalls”. Order ‘This Ain’t Rock ‘N’ Roll: Pop Music, the Swastika and the Third Reich’ here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/this-aint-rock-n-roll/daniel-rachel/9781399635721Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan Jennings’ podcast ‘Desperately Seeking Paul’ is so successful he’s used 250 of the interviews in a best-selling oral history. ‘Dancing Through The Fire’ has voices from right across the spectrum – family members, band members, writers, pluggers, label bosses, collaborators and famous fans. He talks to us here about … … Weller’s real name and when he changed it by deed poll … a theory about bands formed in towns not cities … the handbrake turn from the Jam to the Style Council – one minute the intense young man cutting out his press clippings, the next espadrilles, singing in French and “nibbling Mick’s ear on the River Cam” … Weller’s “very English” need to be heard and respected - but not loved … the role of his manager father in the Jam’s success, the days when the family phone number was in the Fan Club ads ... how Noel Gallagher engineered a Bono/Weller photo op … Paul’s glorious chippiness – Band Aid, the pop press, “offering a journalist out for a fight in Victoria Park” ... John and Paul Weller and echoes of Only Fools And Horses … when the Jam played ice rinks and swimming pools … the cab-driver gossip grapevine … cutting 1.5 million words to 250,000 and the book’s biggest revelations and surprises. Order a copy of Dancing Through The Fire here: https://geni.us/dancingthroughthefireHelp us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marking our dance card at the rock and roll hop this week you’ll find … … And Then He Kissed Me, I Saw Her Standing There, Springsteen’s All The Way Home: songs about the theatre of dancing … is there a more influential sleeve than Patti Smith’s Horses? … did Dylan invent the box-set? … records you wish you liked … when the Beach Boys were so off the boil they covered Dylan and three by the Beatles … when did we stop dancing in couples? … Jagger queueing for a sandwich, Beckham in a farm shop, Lady Di in Holland Park and other stars we’ve spotted … Brown Sugar, All Right Now and the daft etiquette of the late ‘60s dancefloor   … Like A Virgin: 42-year-old hears Stairway To Heaven for the first time! … “Are you dancin’? Are you askin’? I’m askin’! I’m dancin’! … plus George Faith, train songs, records you’ve not played for years, the anthem Zohran Mamdani was stopped from using, and birthday guest Giles Fraser on stars in unusual places.Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Bowie’s significance just keeps expanding and the look and sound of him never age. Paul Morley has been gripped from the start and his new book ‘Far Above The World’ explores the many reasons why. These among them … … Labyrinth, YouTube and the new ways people discover Bowie … why he’s a figurehead of a vanishing world … dressing up for radio interviews … his almost fatal relationship with America and the 1971 promo tour that was his ‘On The Road’ … Haddon Hall and his first key collaborators … writing a book about Bowie in public as part of the V&A exhibition – “I was an art installation!” … Five Years, the internet, the studio as an instrument and other ways he was ahead of the curve … “his YouTube reels are now part of his catalogue” … his boundless curiosity about art, film, books and technology … that unforgettable clip of TFI Friday: “every interview was performance art” … a missed chance on the Marc Bolan Show … “music to repel the Dark Ages” … and why his look and sound never age. Order ‘Far Above The World: The Time And Space of David Bowie’ here: https://www.resident-music.com/product/morley-paul-far-above-the-world-the-time-and-space-of-david-bowieHelp us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Sussman’s mother Fran had a year-long love affair with Dylan when he was working on Blood on the Tracks – she’s mentioned in Tangled Up In Blue – and they met again in 1990. What she told him about that relationship is mapped out in the book he’s just written, Boy From the North Country, along with the firm belief that he’s Dylan’s son. Imagine how that must feel. This extraordinary conversation takes a number of turns and these are among them … … Norman Raeben’s art class where Dylan was trying break his creative block and met the 20-year old Fran Sussman   … details of their 12-month affair and how it ended: “he gave me love songs but not love” … the verses of Tangled Up In Blue that relate to Fran and the philosophy, art and poetry woven into his songs at the time … Dylan’s other women in 1974 … being told by a teacher that he looked like Dylan and how he’s played up that connection ever since … how it feels to think you might have numerous Dylan siblings - and how many there might be(!) … the kind of people Sam meets in his book-signing queues ... and why his mother wouldn’t confirm who his father was. Order copies of Boy From The North Country here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/boy-from-the-north-country/sam-sussman/9781804711286Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Bailey’s been based in New Zealand for the last 30 years, making records, DJing and avoiding British winters. He tours the UK in 2026 playing the Thompson Twins’ greatest hits and looks back here from Auckland at the first shows he ever saw and played, all this high in the mix … ... dance music and the British Invasion of America … the inspiring delights of Some Kind Of Mushroom, his local record shop in Chesterfield … seeing Blodwyn Pig, Edgar Broughton and Principal Edwards Magic Theatre when he was 15 … “bass players go to bed last” … when his folk-rock band the Witching Hour supported Mick Farren & the Deviants - and promptly split up … living in Clapham squats with members of the Pop Group and the Slits … the Thompson Twins - from “the young angry white-boy funk” to the MTV trio with a policy statement  .. their manifesto and division of labour – “Tom Bailey music, Alannah Currie lyrics, Joe Leeway the live show” … Live Aid with Madonna when the David Letterman house band became the Thompson Twins … “a miraculous palette of sound”: how affordable technology changed his life … and the extravagant talent of his all-female band. Tickets for Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey & Blancmange 2026 Tour here: https://www.alttickets.com/thompson-twins-tom-bailey-ticketsHelp us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The raw ingredients of this week’s news gently diced, simmered and served as a nutritious broth. And flavoured with the following … … why Lily Allen’s divorce album doubled the value of her house … how can you play real living people as fundamentally bad after Steve Coogan’s ‘Lost King’ court case? … the cowbell on Honky Tonk Women, the guiro on Gimme Shelter, the tambourine on classic Motown: Richard Pite gives a percussion demo … Kraftwerk, 10cc, Coolio, George McCrae – more records that sound unique … music used in movies to say ‘we’re flying East!’ … You Have Selected Regicide, Kill Wealthy Dowager: Morrissey song or line from the Simpsons? … Woodbines, potted herrings, Paris buns: things we expect to find in Van Morrison’s soon-to-open childhood home ... why it’s worth hearing Mishima by Philip Glass and John the Revelator by Son House … the time Jack Ashford was flown across America just to add a tambourine … people who found they had a famous father … and Mick ‘Two Pairs of Maracas’ Jagger and what Eno predicted about I Feel Love.Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Morrissey and Marr both wrote memoirs but Mike Joyce hasn’t read either, preferring to publish ‘The Drums’, his version of one of the great success stories of the ‘80s, a book about “the beauty we’d given to people – and to ourselves”. At one point he and Andy Rourke shout, ‘Where did it all go right?”. He looks back here at … … the fateful meeting in Geales fish bar when Johnny told them he was leaving – “none of us, not even Morrissey, saw it coming” … the first Smiths rehearsal and impressions of “Steve” the singer … how the songs were written - “we never asked what they meant” … and how they were arranged: “I locked with Johnny like Charlie with Keith, and Andy played a bass song over the top” ... memories of Johnny at X Clothes in Manchester and Morrissey in ‘82 - “funny, dark, so Manc” … the “almost anti-punk” appeal of the Buzzcocks and the urge for a John Maher red Premier drumkit … “Morrissey’s articulacy was both his strength and his Achilles heel” … echoes of Motown and James Honeyman-Scott in Marr’s guitar … “Singers need to feel they’re the most important person in the room” … on-stage gladioli versus “the austerity of the Hacienda” … and Morrissey today - “very angry” - and the legacy of the Smiths.   Order copies of ‘The Drums here: https://www.resident-music.com/product/joyce-mike-the-drumsHelp us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Boarding this week’s giddy carousel of news, we ride the following ponies … … the Sliding Doors moment that made a ‘50s star a fortune … Soft Cell’s Dave Ball and the art of being the Other One in a pop duo  … Bohemian Rhapsody, O Superman, I Feel Fine: records that sounded like nothing before them … what links the Prodigy, Wet Leg, Daft Punk and Donna Summer? … how all bands need a bad patch to make you appreciate the good ones … “the concept album is a good servant but a bad master” … Expensive = Reassuringly valuable? Cheap = Worthless? … a new Taylor Swift album in ‘sweat and vanilla-perfumed orange glitter vinyl’, anyone? … and the tricks singers use to disguise the fact that they can’t hit the top notes anymore. … plus ‘the Siege and Investiture of Baron von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria’ by Blue Öyster Cult and birthday guest Phil Hopwood on best and worst concept albums.Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.