Join writer John Niven to have a chat about Bob Dylan & the Band & the time they spent in Woodstock. John talks us through his idea for a fictional book set when the Band were living in Big Pink & recording with Dylan in the basement downstairs. We discuss how Dylan & the various members of The Band came to be in Woodstock, how the Basement Tapes recordings came about, Bob Dylan's prolific songwriting in Woodstock, the lifestyle The Band were living in the relative anonymity of Woodstock & the surrounding area. We also talk about the new material Dylan wrote which is covered by others before he has even cut any of them himself (This Wheel's On Fire by Julie Driscoll, Too Much Of Nothing by Peter, Paul & Mary, Tears of Rage by Ian & Sylvia, The Mighty Quinn - a number one single for Manfred Mann, a few tracks by The Byrds & Fairport Convention). We mention some of John's favourite tracks from the eventual release of the Basement Tapes in 1975 & the various bootlegs available over the years, plus the original bootleg release The Great White Wonder. How the Band's songwriting improved suddenly & exponentially, signing with Capitol for their debut album Music From Big Pink (a deal broker by Dylan manager Albert Grossman), the impact the area ultimately had on their writing both for Dylan & The Band. We give our take on Bob Dylan's painting which ends up as the cover artwork for the first Band album & then we move onto the influence The Band subsequently have on music - the birth of the Americana genre & alt.country plus more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thurston Moore returns for the 2nd part of our chat including: bumping into Joey Ramone on the way to CBGBs for the first time, Wayne County, meeting Lee Ranaldo at a gig, being introduced to Kim Gordon via a mutual friend, the downtown art world including Jean-Michel Basquiat, his early band The Coachmen, even Madonna gets a mention. We also detail the formation of Sonic Youth & how he came up with the iconic band name. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week we welcome Thurston Moore formerly of Sonic Youth - we talk about his childhood in Connecticut, some of the early records he including Iron Butterly, Abbey Road, Led Zeppelin & Black Sabbath, Buying the Rolling Stones - Their Satanic Majesties Request, the influence of his Dad, seeing an early Patti Smith gig in Westbury, CT & later sending off for her Hey Joe 7” single. Sending money to Richard Hell, driving to 2nd hand bookstores with Tom Verlaine & the first mention of Tom's published poetry, finishing with his first trip to Max’s Kansas City to see the Cramps & Suicide. Part 2 next week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Writer & musician Willy Vlautin (Richmond Fontaine, The Delines) joins us to talk about his new book The Horse on Faber & Faber - we also go deep on his formative years in Reno, Nevada, his love for the Pacific Northwest - specifically Portland, Oregon. We talk about his early influences including Green on Red, The Long Ryders & the Cowpunk bands, The Jam, The Pogues, Bruce Springsteen & Australian songwriter Paul Kelly. Writers that had an influence including John Steinbeck, Barry Gifford, Larry Brown & Raymond Carver. We touch briefly on movies & end up discussing Mad Max: Fury Road & Andrew Haigh's All Of Us Strangers & more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join us on our first trip to the mighty music city of Sheffield as Martyn Ware guides us through growing up in the city, meeting Phil Oakey at school, his formative early bands, the influence of science fiction on his work, he & Phil's shared love of Marvel & DC comics, seeing Star Wars on opening day at the Sheffield Gaumont, seeing Roxy Music at Sheffield University in 1972, coming up with the name the Human League, recording the demo that became Being Boiled, signing with Virgin Records, touring with Siouxsie & the Banshees & Iggy Pop, debut album Reproduction, their first headline tour, the early gig David Bowie attended, the quick follow up 2nd album Travelogue & it's Malcolm Garrett designed cover, the bands first TV appearance courtesy of Tony Wilson, his ultimate departure from the band & more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Richard Norris talks us through the birth of Acid House at clubs such as Shoom, Future & Heaven, the Jack the Tab album, his time as a member of The Grid, their unexpected chart success, Alan McGee's brief tenure as manager, his early trips to Ibiza & collaborations with Andy Mackay and Phil Mazanera from Roxy Music, Robert Fripp from King Crimson, Brian Eno, PP Arnold, Sun Ra, Johnny Marr & surf guitar king Dick Dale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Acclaimed music writer Tom Doyle is our guide this week as we take a deep dive into the formative years & early career of Kate Bush. From her upbringing on East Wickham Farm near Welling, her early songwriting, learning to play piano, David Gilmour's involvement in her early career, the visual aspect of her work, her early gigs with the KT Bush Band, cutting Wuthering Heights in 1 take, her huge early success with The Kick Inside album, the less successful follow up Lionheart & the 1979 Tour of Life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join us & take a stroll down the Kings Road with writer Max Decharne as our guide. Our first stop is the Angry Young Men of 1956, before moving on to the Swinging Londoners of 1966 & finally the punks of 1976. With mentions along the way for Mozart, the Beatles, John Osborne, Henry VIII, Rolling Stones, James Bond, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Charles II, Mary Quant, Andrew Loog Oldham, Vivienne Westwood & many more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join us on our first trip to The Hacienda in Manchester as we talk to DJ Paulette about her early days & first DJ gigs, her influences, launching the iconic Flesh night at the Hacienda (Manchester's first gay club night), Manchester nightlife of the 80's & 90's, the 'it's queer up north' tagline, the birth of the LBGTQ scene in Manchester & much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join Penderyn Prize winning writer Michael Cragg to discuss all things pop in the 90's & 2000's. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join us to hear about Paul Hanley's time in the fall including making his live debut at the Electric Ballroom age 16, recording Totally Wired & How I Wrote Elastic Man at his first recording session, the legendary trip to Iceland, recording Hex Education Hour, Slates, The Wonderful & Frightening World... and more.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellProduced by Tim Benton & Simon CardwellMusic by Rob Britton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Suzi Ronson gives us a first hand account of the Ziggy Stardust years she spent with David Bowie from creating the iconic Ziggy haircut & costumes, the early days at Haddon Hall in Beckenham, hearing Starman for the first time, touring America with the Spiders, the UK tours leading up to the final performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1973.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellProduced by Tim Benton & Simon CardwellMusic by Rob Britton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The second part of our chat with Miki Berenyi from Lush - from the release of the debut album Spooky, the Lolopoloza tour of the US, second album Split, the commercial success of the Lovelife album & the Single Girl & Ladykillers singles, 4AD, the end of the band in 1996 & the reunion in 2016.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellProduced by Tim Benton & Simon CardwellMusic by Rob Britton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Miki Berenyi joins us to talk about her upbringing & early life in Willesden Green, meeting Emma Anderson & the other members of Lush, making their fanzine Alphabet Soup, their first band the Baby Machines, changing the name to Lush, the first Lush gig at the Camden Falcon, signing with 4AD & more.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellProduced by Tim Benton & Simon CardwellMusic by Rob Britton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week acclaimed writer John Robb takes us up north to put our first pin in our Music Map in the iconic city of Manchester. We detail the bands formation & early years, first gigs around the country, the release of Sally Cinnamon, their live debut in Manchester at the International 1, almost signing with Rough Trade, recording Elephant Stone with Peter Hook, the first national tour in 1989, the debut album & its gradual rise to meteoric status, the famous Blackpool Empress Ballroom gig & more.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellProduced by Tim Benton & Simon CardwellMusic by Rob Britton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join us to celebrate the life & career of Karen Carpenter. Biographer Lucy O'Brien takes us on our first trip to the USA to chat all things Karen from her early years, the formation of the band with her brother Richard, signing to A&M Records, their peak years of success, her illness & tragic death.Help us put another pin in our Music Map in the LA suburb of Downey, California.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellProduced by Tim Benton & Simon CardwellMusic by Rob Britton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join us as and Penderyn Prize winning author Daniel Rachel to take a deep dive into the formation of the Two Tone record label in Coventry - starting with the beginnings of the label, moving onto the early years of Jerry Dammers, The Specials & Madness meeting at the Hope & Anchor in Islington, the Two Tone Top of the Pops Episode, the Two Much Too Young EP hitting number 1, the famous Two Tone Tour of 1979 & more.Help us to put the first pin in our Music Map of the world in the Motor City of Coventry.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellProduced by Tim Benton & Simon CardwellMusic by Rob Britton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Introducing Music Maps - the Rock n Roll Book Club Podcast, each episode we use a place as a jumping off point for a conversation about music - anywhere from the obvious to the obscure.Join us as we build our Music Map of the world.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellProduced by Tim Benton & Simon CardwellMusic by Rob Britton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.