Emeritus Professor Roly Sussex walks you through the linguistic mindfield, explaining the weird and wonderful aspects of English and many other languages.
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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 ...
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Graham Nash beat the Beatles in a talent contest
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13:14
We both first heard Graham Nash just over 60 years ago when the Hollies’ Just One Look was on the BBC’s swinging Light Programme and we’ve followed him ever since, not least his transformational shift in the late-‘60s from suburban Salford to the wood cabins of Laurel Canyon. He’s touring the UK in October, An Evening of Songs and Stories with Pete…
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A Word in Your Ear: New Year & Christmas Alliteration
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18:27
Now that the festive season is done, its time to pack up the decorations, put away leftover wrapping paper and store this year's Christmas cards.Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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The Dylan biopic, Sam & Dave and why 2025 is the most important year in our lives.
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45:48
Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun, it is in fact just two old lags reviewing the current events, which this week include … … the made-up scene in A Complete Unknown which Dylan apparently insisted was included. … the Day of the Locust: do the LA fires spell the end of the Hollywood Dream? … why does no-one writ…
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Johnnie Walker, pop’s golden year and what’s wrecking rock documentaries.
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36:50
It’s perishing cold in our frostbitten London HQ but we warmed our toes around a blazing conversational fire and roasted the following chestnuts … … “the job of pop records is to be better than the year before”. … the real reason new music tends to sound the same. … Johnnie Walker – “his voice was his instrument”. … The Kinks, The Shangri-Las, the …
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How Dylan and Leonard Cohen punctured the Summer Of Love plus the birth of blockbuster album
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44:51
Among the walnut shells, wrapping paper, dried tangerine peel and broken toys beneath the Christmas Tree Of News we found a few unopened presents, among them … … Marine Homicide Unit solving murders in Scottish waters or former rock star dumping toxic waste? A crime drama Stackwaddy special. … Roy Bittan, Duke Ellington: how musical “professors” da…
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Why we have enough Christmas hits plus the greatest songs about money
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40:22
Deck the halls with beers and Stoli! The nutcracker of scrutiny was applied to this week’s noisettes of news and the following discussed over a glass of port … ... are a lot of new song catalogues just blogs set to music? … can any actor be convincing playing someone really famous? … Robbie Williams’ Better Man: it’s the way forward! Who can his CG…
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Bill Bailey celebrates “the things that make us human”.
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30:07
The tremendous Bill Bailey is staging “a magical, musical mystery tour of the mind, along with other pressing matters” for 42 nights in London from December 28, a celebration of what makes us human in an age threatened by AI. There'll be “a laser harp”. There’ll be electronic drum balls played by audience members. There'll be extracts from Kraftwer…
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How Al Stewart struck gold, the folk boom and a flat-share with Paul Simon
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40:16
The 17 year-old Al Stewart played electric guitar in a dance band in Bournemouth in 1963. When he borrowed an acoustic and sang Masters Of War in the break, he heard the sweet sound of applause. The next night he played three Dylan songs and sensed which way the wind was blowing. He talks here about moving to London, playing at Bunjies and becoming…
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‘Mystique is dead’: what Gary Kemp learnt in 40 years of making and selling records
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49:45
Gary Kemp has been posting reels of his recent visits to old haunts in Soho where he and his early bands used to rehearse, this in the run-up to releasing a third solo album, ‘This Destination’, in January. We talk to him here about how records were made and promoted in the ‘80s and how radically that’s changed today. Which includes … … “all media …
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The afterlife of Hallelujah and the day David sold his old singles
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51:39
We ran our patent heat-sensing Scrutiniser®️ over the week’s news and here’s what set the bells off … … are buskers now more expensive live entertainment than Taylor Swift? … a Dickensian oik in Chapel Market and other riddles of modern etiquette. … ‘Holiness and horniness’: how Hallelujah rebooted Leonard Cohen and became a one-song industry. … th…
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The greatest sax solo, YMCA, musical one-night stands and Tom Hanks’ wise advice
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41:03
Paddling the three-man conversational kayak across the rock and roll rapids this week involved … … Olive Mess, Candied Yams, Gorilla Biscuits …? Challenging indie act or seasonal vegan recipe? … the amount YMCA earned through Donald Trump and why the man who wrote it is complaining. … Tom Hanks’ valuable words of wisdom. … Neil Tennant’s favourite …
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How ‘60s pop was sold and the first news stories launching the hits
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45:21
Joni Mitchell called it “stoking the star-maker machinery behind the popular song”. Every record sent out for review used to come with a press release knocked together by an over-excited PR before terms like “psychedelia” or “prog” had been invented. They were scanned once for the odd fact or quote and usually chucked in the bin. Richard Morton Jac…
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The Beatles ’64 movie - one of us loves it, the other doesn’t. Plus Rod’s tweets & Trump’s guitars
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49:24
Reversing into tomorrow! This week’s news events given a vigorous once-over include … … what will a Trump guitar be worth in 30 years’ time? … the average age of a Glastonbury goer and how it sells its TV coverage. … “the Beatles in America was like Cortez arriving in South America, the clash of two civilizations. How did this film manage to balls …
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How R.E.M. changed the game and why there’ll never be another band like them
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36:26
R.E.M. considered themselves missionaries against the prevailing pop culture – no solos, no old-school stagecraft, no printed lyrics, no lip-syncing, no hard-sell videos, no obvious leader – and mapped out a whole new route to international success. Peter Ames Carlin, whose books include biographies of Springsteen, Brian Wilson and Paul Simon, talk…
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Fairport, Nick Drake, Traffic and why Island Records was a sumptuous visual delight
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33:02
Neil Storey worked in the Island press office in the ‘70s and ‘80s and has set out on mammoth undertaking, to compile a series of gorgeous, album-sleeve-sized books telling the story of virtually every record the label released in its pioneering history and talking to all involved - musicians, producers, designers, photographers, label staff – and …
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Danny Baker - the panjandrum of unstoppable anecdote with a taste of his upcoming tour
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50:55
Danny Baker, the act you’ve known for all these years, is kicking his legs up again in 2025 on a thundering new theatre tour, ‘Aye Aye! Ahoy Hoy!’ “Dead men tell no tales,” he points out, “so we might might as well get ‘em all told now.” This will be another barnstorming one-man circus - as, naturally, is this barrelling conversation with the two o…
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The Band Aid recording, the birth of the tape loop and the power of the movie theme tune
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This week’s events piled into a pipe and enthusiastically smoked include … … our memories of being at the Band Aid recording in Sarm studios, November 25 1984. … why it was the last dance of the mass media and why nothing could have the same impact now. … the “household name” that made all the difference. … the real reason Bob Geldof could be invol…
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How Toyah & Robert’s kitchen show became an Xmas rock’n’roll ding-dong
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24:09
One of our rays of sunshine in the dark days of Lockdown was Toyah and Robert’s Sunday Lunch, fizzing clips of the two of them in their Dorset kitchen, him playing off-brand rock and roll, her singing in extravagant finery, occasionally on an exercise bike. Their version of Metallica’s Enter Sandman got 8.6m views alone. One time they were dressed …
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John Lydon on the genius of Frankie Howerd, Tommy Cooper and the fine art of Spoken Word
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37:16
John Lydon is among us in 2025 - with Public Image in May and on his Spoken Word tour in September. Entertainment is guaranteed, as it is in this podcast with Mark where he considers … Norman Wisdom, Frankie Howerd, Tommy Cooper and the “sadness in all comedians”, stage fright, the day his dad threw him out of the house, why PiL is like opera, Ray …
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A Word in Your Ear: Giving & Philanthropy
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21:44
Roly Sussex explores the origins of giving, and words like philanthropy, donations and charity.Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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The poshest pop star ever, music in Xmas ads and song lyrics we can still recite
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42:34
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42:34
In which we feed the week’s events through our heat-seeking Fun-Filter®️ to see what makes the bell ring. Which includes … … Richard Ashcroft in the new John Lewis Christmas ad. … U2 v Coldplay, the Beatles v Pink Floyd – rock bands and the “diploma divide”. … why can we still recite entire song lyrics we learnt when teenagers but can’t remember th…
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Robert Hilburn on the lifetime achievement of Randy Newman
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30:21
He’s written some of the darkest entries in the American songbook but became world famous with a sunny celebration of friendship on the soundtrack of “Toy Story”. Inbetween can be found a staggering range of songs dealing with everything from short people to Vladimir Putin, from performing bears to the Louisiana Flood., from ELO to the Great Nation…
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A Word in Your Ear: Acronyms & Initialisms
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22:09
What's the difference between Qantas and the ATO? Roly Sussex will take you into the strange world of acronyms and initialisms.Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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Peter Perrett of the Only Ones – teenage life, a wondrous return and a 35-year lost weekend.
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29:22
After many years of invisibility, Peter Perrett of the Only Ones is out, about and on tour again and talks to us here about the first gigs he ever saw and played, which involves … … what time he goes to bed. … “he writes better lyrics than Elvis Costello and is prettier than Billy Idol”: why Nick Kent’s review was an insult. … seeing the Small Face…
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Does ‘celebrity endorsement’ still work? - and how Quincy Jones invented the blockbuster
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50:10
Things this week that sent the needle into the red included … … the last dance craze the whole world noticed. ... “Rock stars used to be anti-establishment. Now they ARE the establishment.” … artworks, flags, bespoke I-Ching Coins … would YOU pay £1,350 for a box set? … why Quincy Jones made records like a movie director. ... how Dylan’s Biograph a…
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The genius of George Harrison and why he’s still underrated
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39:55
The most streamed Beatles song – 700 million plays more than any other – is not by Lennon/McCartney but George who, as author Seth Rogovoy points out, is still widely considered “an economy-class Beatle” though his contributions were central to the success of their records. Seth’s new book ‘Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison’ sets…
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A Word in Your Ear: Americanisms
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23:36
Americanisms have had such an impact on our language that ABC's Roly Sussex has recorded over 10,000 of them.Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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Ian Broudie of the Lightning Seeds - his Year Zero moment, Imposter Syndrome and seeing the Beatles (aged 7)
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31:06
Ian Broudie and the Lightning Seeds are about to set out on their 35th Anniversary Greatest Hits Tour – aka “beery parties”. He talks to us here about the first bands he ever saw and played in, which involves … … memories of the Liverpool School of Language, Music, Dream and Pun. … the secret of seeming enigmatic: “Never finish your sentences …” … …
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Kraftwerk, Cream, Nirvana, savage reviews, fantasy girlfriends and a naked Nick Cave ‘plush doll’
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47:51
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47:51
Our crack pair of inquisitors tackle the week’s events and sift out the good, the bad and the riveting, which includes … … whatever happened to savage reviews? … “For God’s sake, keep the robots out of music!”: the 50th birthday of Kraftwerk’s Autobahn. … a Naked Nick Cave Plush Doll (£24) and some Jonny Greenwood olive oil. … strange tales about t…
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Life with the Lennons, fame, friendship, the FBI and the Lost Weekend – by Elliot Mintz.
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43:40
Elliot Mintz, then a West Coast radio presenter, met the Lennons in 1971, the start of a close, unique and extraordinary friendship and hours of late-night phone calls. And he’s finally written a book about it, We All Shine On: John, Yoko & Me, which records the isolated, complicated life they led imprisoned by their celebrity, at times joyous and …
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A Word in Your Ear: Spooky Words
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25:53
Boo! From witches to wicca, Roly Sussex peeks behind the curtain of words like ghosts, spectres, Halloween and haunts.Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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How Goth took over, farewell Phil Lesh and the curse of teenage stardom
51:48
51:48
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51:48
Brushing aside the cobweb spray and luminous flashing skulls, we ring rock and roll’s doorbell in pursuit of both tricks and treats. Among which you’ll find … … the gothification of entertainment … Harry Potter, Creedence Clearwater and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. … Donald Trump dancing to Jeff Buckley. … why Phil Lesh was the heart and soul…
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When Mark King of Level 42 was the 11 year-old singing drummer in a novelty act
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46:24
Mark King and Level 42 have just announced 2025 tour dates and he talks to us here about … … the value of what you learn in covers bands from being ignored. … why being thrown out of home for being thrown out of school was the best thing that ever happened to him. … Level 42’s first gig, kicked off after four songs. … Chile, Turkey and other new ma…
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A Word in Your Ear: The Language of Democracy
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23:25
With US elections on the horizon, Roly Sussex investigates the language of democracy.Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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King Crimson, red hair dye and a singing Jack Russell: the boisterous memoir of Jakko Jakszyk
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39:19
This is an extraordinary story on many levels – about the power and sanctuary of music, about what it took for bands to get noticed in the ‘70s, about how a teenager obsessed with King Crimson eventually joined the band and about the struggles of “a rabid Henry Cow fan trying to get on Top of the Pops”. Jakko Jakszyk is a fabulous storyteller, both…
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Obsessive fans, Dylan’s reading list and how Taylor Swift tickets are the new codeword for wealth
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51:04
Applying our patent wheat-chaff separator to recent rock and roll events, we filter out the following … … “They’ve got the guns but we got the numbers”: whatever happened to political songs? … the life of Libby Titus and the afterlife of Love Has No Pride. … when gigs become stalking with a musical component. … how Taylor Swift Tickets became the n…
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Britpop, its peaks and its spiritual godfather: a Golden Age rebooted by Miranda Sawyer
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41:44
You’ll know Miranda Sawyer from the Observer and the radio and, possibly, from her days at Smash Hits and Select magazines that form the foundation of her new book, Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs, a time spent watching, interviewing and hanging out with the collection of misfits and outsiders fast becoming the last great musical mo…
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A Word in Your Ear: Italian Cuisine
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25:11
It's the delicious language of Italy on the menu tonight.Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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Zappa and Elvis as fathers (!), Billy Joel’s house sale and the curse of too much choice
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44:18
Our record-breaking partnership faces a fresh set of spin bowlers on the rock and roll pitch but rifles a few shots over the pavilion roof, among them … … the time Elvis let his daughter ride her pony through the house. … when Moon Zappa (10) found naked hippies making candles in the garden. … “Can you get that? It might be someone important.” The …
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Hugh Cornwell on how the drummer has the best seat in the house
24:03
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24:03
Hugh Cornwell is preparing for his “All The Fun Of The Fair” tour which begins in November and here he talks to David Hepworth about: ….why rehearsals are best in bursts ….why he no longer carries keyboards ….the special magic of going to see Chuck Berry with Richard Thompson ….how the two of them have recorded “Tobacco Road” for an Alzheimers bene…
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A Word in Your Ear: Echo Phrases
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22:30
Are you feeling tip-top, hoity-toity or namby-pamby today? Roly investigates the curiosities of echo phrases.Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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Kris Kristofferson, a lost Tom Petty film and rock stars and the curse of the selfie
45:18
45:18
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45:18
We aimed the airgun of enquiry at this week’s rock and roll side-stall and dislodged the following coconuts … … sports star, Rhodes scholar, bohemian: why Kris Kristofferson was a whole new breed of American hero. … the letter his parents wrote disowning him. … how he invented the crossover hit. … echoes of his life in Five Easy Pieces. … Fellini’s…
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How Christine McVie saw Fleetwood Mac and the real reason she left them – by Lesley-Ann Jones
37:56
37:56
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37:56
Christine McVie - one of only two British girl rock musicians in the ‘60s and part of the greatest pop soap opera of all time. Neither in the backline or the frontline but occupying a unique middle ground. Packed it in for 16 years then returned to the fold. Lesley-Ann Jones’ fresh and emotional memoir Songbird follows “the trajectory of a male roc…
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Nick Heyward dressed like Cary Grant – then the Jam, XTC and Talking Heads. “It’s all about clothes, hair and shoes.”
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33:12
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33:12
Nick Heyward was one of our favourite cover stars when we were at Smash Hits in the ‘80s, the days when hardcore Haircut One Hundred fans turned out in Fair Isle sweaters and Sou’Westers. He now lives mostly in Florida, he’s made nine solo albums – one magnificently titled Open Sesame Seed - and he’s toured again with his old band after ten years’ …
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In the studio with Nick Drake, Fairport, John Martyn & the String Band: John Wood remembers a golden age
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48:44
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48:44
“There was no Command-Zed back then!” John Wood engineered or produced some of the most magical, timeless and affecting records ever made - by Nick Drake, John Martyn, the McGarrigles, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, John Cale, Squeeze and many more. He’s 85 now and looks back here at a luminous career that started with mastering singles at Decca…
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A Word in Your Ear: Onomatopoeia
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25:42
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25:42
Do dogs go "whoof, whoof", "ruff, ruff" or "wan, wan"? Roly Sussex explores the origins of onomatopoeia.Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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Ian Hunter – joining Mott The Hoople, Bowie, Hamburg and being “enthused into craziness”.
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31:19
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31:19
Ian Hunter – an image so familiar you’d recognise his silhouette - now lives in Connecticut and he’s just released expanded versions of two of his best-selling solo albums, You’re Never Alone With A Schizophrenic and Short Back N' Sides. He’s 85, born before any of the Beatles. We talk to him here about life growing up in the ‘40s and ‘50s when you…
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Bryan Ferry, Maggie Smith and why Ian Hunter is a movie in waiting
46:44
46:44
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46:44
As the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness draws in, we poke the embers of this week’s rock and roll bonfire and rake out the following chestnuts … … Maggie Smith on ‘70s chat shows. … when Radiohead meets Shakespeare. … the strange, circuitous and downright disgraceful launch of Francis Ford Coppola’s majestically bonkers Megalopolis. … Chappe…
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When Cocteau Twins followed the Ramones onstage and why 1979 was the Golden Age - by Simon Raymonde
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45:10
Simon Raymonde’s affecting and beautifully written memoir ‘In One Ear’ records life in the ‘60s growing up with a father who wrote and arranged for Dusty Springfield, Helen Shapiro and the Walker Brothers, the impossibly shy promotional activities of the Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil and the struggles and eventual jackpot of the Bella Union re…
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The deep secret of Abba’s “music without nostalgia” and the time they met the Pistols
46:59
46:59
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46:59
Abba’s biographer Jan Gradvall met and interviewed Abba many times and builds a fresh picture of their internal chemistry in his new book Melancholy Undercover. Highlights of this illuminating pod include … … how Sweden rejected their early hits for not being sufficiently “socialist”. …. the discomfiting early life of Anni-Frid Lyngstad. … what Max…
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