Shows
Rock's BackpagesSteffan Chirazi on Metallica + Jack Casady audio + John SinclairIn this episode we welcome the splendid Steffan Chirazi to RBP Towers and ask him about his career as a metal/hard rock specialist and his long association with the mighty Metallica.We hear about our guest's lucky break as a 15-year-old Motörhead maniac when the band's frontman Lemmy gave up three hours to Steffan during the sessions for 1983's Another Perfect Day – and became a dear friend for life. Steffan then recounts how he got his foot in the door at Sounds and its enduring HM spinoff Kerrang!.The first of many interviews with Metallica ...2024-04-151h 21
Life Goals with Theo DelaneyLife Goals with Theo Delaney - Barney Hoskyns (Part 2)Part two of Theo Delaney’s conversation with revered music writer and editor Barney Hoskyns, the editorial director of music writing archive Rocks Back Pages and the co-compiler of ‘Phew Eh Readers?’ the new collection of writing by legendary pop scribe Tom Hibbert which is getting rave reviews everywhere. Among the scorers here are Eden Hazard and Gianfranco Zola. @BarneyHoskyns@LifeGoalsTD@theodelaney https://www.rocksbackpages.com/https://www.theodelaney.com/life-goals-links2024-03-1147 minLife Goals with Theo DelaneyLife Goals with Theo Delaney - Barney Hoskyns (Part 2)Part two of Theo Delaney’s conversation with revered music writer and editor Barney Hoskyns, the editorial director of music writing archive Rocks Back Pages and the co-compiler of ‘Phew Eh Readers?’ the new collection of writing by legendary pop scribe Tim Hibbert which is getting rave reviews everywhere. Among the scorers here are Eden Hazard and Gianfranco Zola. @BarneyHoskyns@LifeGoalsTD@theodelaney https://www.rocksbackpages.com/https://www.theodelaney.com/life-goals-links2024-03-1147 minLife Goals with Theo DelaneyLife Goals with Theo Delaney - Barney Hoskyns (Part 1)Theo Delaney’s guest is celebrated music writer and editior Barney Hoskyns the editorial director of Rock’s Back Pages and co-compiler of ‘Phew Eh Readers?’ the new collection of writing by legendary pop scribe Tom Hibbert which is getting rave reviews everywhere. A devout Chelsea fan, among his selected goalscoreres in this, part one of two, are David Webb and Ronald Koeman @BarneyHoskyns @LifeGoalsTD@theodelaney https://www.rocksbackpages.com/ https://www.theodelaney.com/life-goals-links2024-03-1148 minLife Goals with Theo DelaneyLife Goals with Theo Delaney - Barney Hoskyns (Part 1)Theo Delaney’s guest is celebrated music writer and editior Barney Hoskyns the editorial director of Rock’s Back Pages and co-compiler of ‘Phew Eh Readers?’ the new collection of writing by legendary pop scribe Tim Hibbert which is getting rave reviews everywhere. A devout Chelsea fan, among his selected goalscoreres in this, part one of two, are David Webb and Ronald Koeman @BarneyHoskyns @LifeGoalsTD@theodelaney https://www.rocksbackpages.com/ https://www.theodelaney.com/life-goals-links2024-03-1148 min
Song by Song"He's a real Mensch" - Barney Hoskyns on the music of Tom Waits - Final Season SpecialsWe're delighted to bring you an extended interview with the man who literally wrote the book on Tom Waits, Barney Hoskyns. Bouncing through a selection of Waits's material from the 70s to the present day, we discuss what it's like to interview and write about artists, what changed (and stayed the same) in Waits's music, and how you should always take a suggestion from Nick Cave seriously. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: songbysongpodcast@gmail.com Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Ol' 55, Closing Time, Tom Waits (1973) Tom Traubert's...2024-01-241h 33
Rock's BackpagesPenelope Spheeris on filming punk and metal + Wayne's WorldIn this episode we welcome the legendary Penelope Spheeris and invite her to talk us through her extraordinary life and brilliant career.Barney wastes little time in asking the Louisiana-born filmmaker about the shocking traumas of her childhood and teenage years. We hear about her alcoholic mother's multiple marriages and the family's move to Southern California that led to Penelope putting herself through film school before graduating from UCLA.Along with the Saturday Night Live shorts she made with actor/comic Albert Brooks, Penelope talks about the pioneering Rock 'n' Reel production company that made '70s vi...2024-01-221h 15
Rock's BackpagesBarbara Ellen on the NME + Madonna + Spinal TapContent warning: This episode contains discussion of sexual violence (22:45–24:55).In this episode we welcome the excellent Barbara Ellen, who joins us on Zoom all the way from... well, the other side of London, actually. (It's a long story.)Barbara talks us through her illustrious writing career from zines such as her own Wax Lyrical and Ooh Gary, Gary (a footie zine dedicated entirely to one G. Lineker, Esq.) via ZigZag (in its Goth phase) to the golden decade she spent in the pages and offices of the NME.Always highly amusing in print, our guest is...2023-12-181h 11
Rock's BackpagesMichel Faber on music & sound + Nick Cave + Captain BeefheartIn this episode we welcome acclaimed novelist Michel Faber to RBP's Hammersmith HQ and ask him about his new book ... as well as about a 1979 interview he did with the young Nick Cave.Barney gets the ball rolling by asking the author of Under the Skin and The Crimson Petal and the White what he set out to do with Listen: On Music, Sound and Us. Viewing music through a variety of prisms — from nostalgia and snobbery to racial bias and auditory biology — was the book at least partly an exercise in demystification?A stimulating conversatio...2023-11-201h 15
Rock's BackpagesMick Gold on Let It Rock + Pub Rock + Bruce Springsteen + Jann WennerIn this episode we welcome music writer/photographer turned award-winning TV director Mick Gold and ask him to return to the mid-'70s to discuss pub rock, Bruce Springsteen and the wonderful Let It Rock magazine.Mick explains how he fell in with Let It Rock's "hard-up left-wing intellectuals" after penning a 5,000-word Beatles thesis at Sussex University. We then hear about the magazine and its eclectic agenda, along with our guest's parallel career as a photographer and his 1976 photo-essay book Rock on the Road.This in turn leads to a conversation about the "pub rock" sc...2023-09-251h 11
Rock's BackpagesCharles Shaar Murray on the NME + John Lee Hooker + Robbie RobertsonIn this episode we welcome NME legend Charles Shaar Murray, beamed in from his adopted Ipswich to reminisce about his career from Oz magazine to his John Lee Hooker biography Boogie Man.We start by discussing Charles' 1970 interview with the mighty Muddy Waters, his "favourite singer since I was 12 years old". Our guest talks about the Oz "School Kids" issue and the other underground publications for which he wrote before he was recruited by New Musical Express in the summer of 1972.We hear how "CSM" became NME's unofficial David Bowie correspondent and how — under Nick Logan's editorship...2023-08-141h 06
Rock's BackpagesJim Farber on Glam Rock + Marc Bolan + Sinéad O'ConnorIn this episode, we invite acclaimed New York writer Jim Farber to tell us about his 50-year career and his experiences of "growing up gay to a Glam Rock soundtrack", to cite the title of a superb 2016 piece he wrote for The New York Times.We start by asking the former Chief Music Critic of the New York Daily News about his Scarsdale childhood and his formative musical memories. He explains how Alice Cooper's 'I'm Eighteen' became a portal to both obsessive fandom and the urgent need to write about rock for Creem, Circus and Rolling Stone. Additionally...2023-07-311h 21
Rock's BackpagesRobyn Hitchcock on the Soft Boys + David Blue + Mick FarrenIn this episode we invite the inimitable Robyn Hitchcock to reminisce about his heroically nonconformist career from the Soft Boys to 2022's Shufflemania!After Robyn explains his recent return to London from his adopted Nashville, Barney, Mark and Martin hear about his hippiefied but not entirely psychedelic '60s youth – plus his early immersion in the far-out folk of the Incredible String Band and the songs of his greatest influence Syd Barrett. He talks about how the Soft Boys did – and didn't – fit into the UK's punk scene of the late '70s, but also how they became...2023-07-101h 28
My Rock MomentAmericana Music in the 60s and 70s and Rock's Backpages with Music Journalist Barney HoskynsBarney Hoskyns is a celebrated author and rock journalist. He started his career in the early 80s at Melody Maker and then New Musical Express, eventually leaving NME to write his first book, "Say It One Time For The Brokenhearted," about the collision of soul and country music in the South. He went on to write more than fifteen books on musicians and music history including, "Waiting for the Sun: A Rock ‘N’ Roll History of Los Angeles "and "Hotel California," chronicling the Laurel Canyon music scene. He’s also the co-founder and editorial director of the online music journa...2023-05-1859 min
Rock's BackpagesPamela Des Barres on the GTOs + Peter Asher audio + Jeff Beck R.I.P.In this episode we welcome the truly legendary Pamela Des Barres, all the way from her native San Fernando Valley, and invite her to reminisce about the all-girl GTOs, Frank Zappa, Lowell George... and plenty more besides.The bestselling author of 1987's groupie confessional I'm With The Band describes how she entered the Laurel Canyon orbit of ringmaster Zappa, and how the motley troupe he christened Girls Together Outrageously came into being. The former Miss Pamela talks about her fellow "Misses" Mercy and Christine, then describes the sessions for the group's unruly 1969 classic Permanent Damage. This leads...2023-01-1656 min
Rock's BackpagesE129: Deborah Frost on heavy metal + Blue Öyster Cult + Grace Jones + FoalsIn this episode we welcome heavy metal expert Deborah Frost, Zooming in from her native New York City, and invite her to talk about her career as a writer and musician.Deborah reminisces about the all-girl "female Dolls" Flaming Youth, in which she drummed in the early '70s, and then explains how she came to write her first pieces for Circus in 1977. She talks about her love of hard rock and heavy metal, and about contributing to Rolling Stone and the Village Voice — including her acclaimed 1985 Voice piece 'White Noise: How Heavy Metal Rules', with its unflatterin...2022-06-131h 14
Rock's BackpagesE121: Peter Guralnick on Blues + Southern Soul + Jerry WexlerIn this episode we invite the great Peter Guralnick — Zooming in from his native Massachusetts — to discuss his "adventures in music and writing"… to quote the subtitle of his wonderful 2020 collection Looking to Get Lost.Peter takes his hosts back to his discovery of Delta blues giants Skip James and Robert Johnson in the early '60s — and to the first pieces he wrote for Paul Williams' Crawdaddy! in 1966. He explains his approach to the masterful profiles he collected in Feel Like Going Home and Lost Highway, and the friendships with Charlie Rich and Bobby "Blue" Bland that resu...2022-02-211h 31
Rock's BackpagesE108: Richard Williams on Laura Nyro + Beach Boys audio interviewsIn this episode — the first we've recorded in our London office for over 18 pandemic months — we persuaded long-time RBP contributor Richard Williams (far left) to make his second appearance on "the show", principally so we could pick his brains on two of his favourite musical subjects. We start with a conversation about Laura Nyro, of whom both he and co-host Barney are besotted devotees (fellow co-hosts Mark & Martin can't get past the voice), then move on to the Beach Boys of 1970's Sunflower & 1971's Surf's Up. Richard is particularly fascinating on the role on the latter masterpiece of manager/co-writer Jac...2021-08-231h 14
Rock's BackpagesE107: David Bates on making hits + Julian Cope audio + Dusty Hill R.I.P.In this episode, Barney, Mark & Jasper invite legendary A&R man David Bates to tell them about his long & distinguished career in music — particularly the years he spent working at Phonogram with the likes of Tears For Fears, Def Leppard & Robert Plant.David reminisces about hearing the Beatles on the radio in 1962, and how that took him eventually to DJ'ing & to working at Richard Branson's first Virgin megastore in the '70s. A clip from our 1990 Was (Not Was) audio interview prompts recall of the droll duo & of David Geffen, after which our guest talks about the "to...2021-08-091h 10
C86 Show - Indie PopBarney HoskynsBarney Hoskyns in conversation talking about his life in music and new book God is in the Radio with David Eastaugh
Barney Hoskyns is the co-founder and editorial director of Rock's Backpages, the online library of pop writing and journalism. He began writing for NME in the early '80s and is a former contributing editor at British Vogue and U.S. correspondent for MOJO
2021-07-191h 15
Rock's BackpagesE105: Nelson George on the Death of R&B + Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis audioIn the new episode of the RBP podcast, hosts Barney, Mark & Jasper welcome the great Nelson George into "the cupboard", all the way from his native Brooklyn. Nelson talks about his long and distinguished career, from interning at Billboard via his Village Voice column to his recently-published collection The Nelson George Mixtape, Vol. 1. His hosts ask him specifically about his essential 1988 book The Death of Rhythm & Blues, as well as about hip hop & the Average White Band.The conversation then turns to the week's new audio interview(s) with Nelson favourites Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis — and to th...2021-07-121h 01
Rock's BackpagesE104: Vivien Goldman's Punky Reggae Party + 'Launderette' + Joe Strummer audioIn this episode, hosts Barney Hoskyns, Mark Pringle & Jasper Murison-Bowie welcome the one & only Vivien Goldman to join them live & direct from her beloved Jamaica — and to talk about her life as a writer about postpunk, reggae, dub & her other "outernationalist" passions.The "Punk Professor" reminisces about her days on Sounds & the UK's other "inkies", and her fight to make women's voices heard in the '70s music press: her 1977 challenging of George Benson's ingrained male chauvinism; her championing of the Raincoats & other "she-punks" of the period; and her own 1981 indie classic 'Launderette'. She brings her musical odyssey up...2021-06-281h 05
Rock's BackpagesE103: David Kamp on Rock Snobbery + 1971 + Sly Stone + Doors audioIn the new episode of the RBP podcast, hosts Mark Pringle, Martin Colyer & Barney Hoskyns invite David Kamp to reminisce about The Rock Snob's Dictionary, already 15 years old but still wonderfully droll and still very on-the-money about people like, well, Mark, Martin & Barney. We ask David to explain the origins of Rock Snobbery and to revisit his epic Vanity Fair pieces about Sly Stone and the unlikely friendship 'twixt country icon Johnny Cash & producer Rick Rubin.The week's overaching theme of 1971 — inspired by Asif Kapadia's new Apple TV series — leads to discussion of Sly's dark masterpiece (and rock...2021-06-151h 12
Ham & High PodcastBarney Hoskyns on PrinceIn this episode André Langlois discusses the musician Prince with rock journalist Barney Hoskyns.
April 21 marks five years since the artist’s death at his Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis. Although that city was an integral part of Prince’s identity, he also had an affection for London, visiting often to play shows in both arenas and small clubs. In 1994 he opened his Sign o’ the Times shop in Camden.
Barney Hoskyns is editorial director of Rock's Backpages, the online library of music journalism, which also has its own podcast.
Barney had the privilege of joining Prince’s touring party in the...2021-04-2045 min
Rock's BackpagesE98: Chris Welch on Melody Maker + Fairport Convention + DMX R.I.P.In this episode of the RBP podcast, we welcome Melody Maker veteran Chris Welch into the virtual cupboard to talk about his long career — all the way from The Scotsman on Fleet Street in 1958 to editing Metal Hammer in 1989. Chris reminisces about the swinging, thrilling '60s and his essential early pieces on acts such as the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. He also recalls coining the term "progressive rock", after which he discusses jazz-fusion virtuosi the Mahavishnu Orchestra with Mark, Barney & Jasper.Attention then turns to Richard Thompson & Fairport Convention, whose Martin Lamble was an acquaintance of...2021-04-191h 19
Rock's BackpagesE90: John Harris on Britpop + McCartney audio + Charley PrideIn this episode we welcome The Guardian's John Harris into RBP's virtual cupboard to reminisce about his career as a music journalist and author. Mark, Barney & Jasper look back with John at Britpop and at The Last Party, his definitive 2003 book about it; we also consider the crucial role in the Britpop story of Select magazine, which John edited between 1995 and 1997. Discussion of Britpop's more jingoistic aspects is accompanied by references to contemporary pieces on Blur, Oasis & co. by Jon Savage and Stuart Maconie — and followed by John's thoughts on morphing into one of the Grauniad's most respected political co...2020-12-211h 14
Rock's BackpagesE87: Jez Butterworth on the Band + Dolly Parton + Perry FarrellIn this episode we welcome acclaimed playwright Jez (Jerusalem) Butterworth into RBP's virtual cupboard to talk mainly about The Band – but also about Dolly Parton and other musical tastes shared with hosts Mark, Barney & Jasper. Barney gets the ball rolling by asking Jez how an early '90s conversation with Malcolm McLaren led to his first play Mojo – and how music has long played a part in his work. A Butterworth screenplay based on John Niven's peerless novella Music from Big Pink prompts discussion of The Band, taking in clips from Barney's 1991 audio interview with Al Aronowitz, the N...2020-11-091h 16
Rock's BackpagesE86: Loraine Alterman on Detroit + Stevie Wonder + Elvis CostelloIn this episode, Barney, Mark & Jasper welcome the great Loraine Alterman — live from New York City! — to reminisce about her journey from '60s "Teen Beat" reporter on the Detroit Free Press to co-producer of a new Broadway show about Motown stars the Temptations. Along the way we also hear about New York's Fillmore and Apollo theatres — and how John Lennon came to be Best Man at her wedding to actor Peter Boyle. Then we head back to the Motor City to discuss the genius of Stevie Wonder as he morphed from '60s Motown prodigy to '70s Moog ma...2020-10-261h 18
Rock's BackpagesE81: Alan McGee on Creation Records + Primal Scream + Oasis vs. BlurIn this episode, Barney & Jasper welcome the legendary Alan McGee into RBP's virtual cupboard. The Creation Records founder talks us through his storied career, from his school days in Glasgow to the Creation 23 label of the 21st century. Reminiscing about the early '80s Living Room gigs he put on in London, Alan describes the signings of Oasis, the Jesus and Mary Chain another great Creation acts. He also explains how Primal Scream got from Sonic Flower Groove to Screamadelica; how he almost signed Teenage Fanclub's idol Alex Chilton; how My Bloody Valentine's Loveless did (or didn't) a...2020-08-171h 08
Tom Waits Podcast: A-Z Tom Waits Show#31 - Interview with Barney Hoskyns & Waits on TVWelcome back to another episode of 'Down in the Hole', where today we will be painstakingly cataloguing and reviewing every single appearance by Tom Waits on television. With extensive clips, we will be covering everything from his legendary spots on Late Night with David Letterman, all the way back to his splattering of guest spots on obscure 70's talk shows.
Of course, our main attraction is once again our interview. This time we will be speaking to author, rock journalist, and podcaster Barney Hoskyns. We first became aware of Hoskyns nearly a decade ago when we first r...2020-06-1200 min
Rock's BackpagesE76: Gil Scott-Heron + Nina Simone + Public EnemyIn this week's episode, Mark, Barney and Jasper discuss the role music has played in expressing the pain and rage of Black Americans. Touching on such seminal figures as Nina Simone, Curtis Mayfield and the Last Poets, they listen to clips from a 1976 audio interview with the late Gil Scott-Heron, assessing his militant poetics and the albums he made with Brian Jackson. From there, the RBP team considers interviews with Public Enemy's Chuck D in 1992 and, from 2015, Kendrick Lamar. They also discuss a 1971 piece about James Brown by pioneering Black "rock critic" Vernon Gibbs. Mark talks us t...2020-06-081h 05
Rock's BackpagesE74: Chris Blackwell's Island Records + Sparks + Remembering Phil MayIn this week's episode, Mark, Barney & Jasper talk extensively about one of the great record labels — a hallowed home to such groundbreaking acts as Jimmy Cliff, Nick Drake, Roxy Music, (Bob Marley and) the Wailers and, yes, U2. Listening to clips from John Tobler's 1989 audio interview with Island founder Chris Blackwell, RBP's power trio reflect on what made the label such a powerhouse for non-mainstream genres like folk and reggae. Blackwell talks of its transformation after 1967, as well as his first encounter with Marley in 1972.A neat segue via Lenny Kaye's 1975 overview of the label leads "the te...2020-05-251h 05
Rock's BackpagesE72: Simon Witter on Kraftwerk + Rick Nelson audio + Lisa VerricoIn this week's episode of the RBP podcast, we pay tribute to Kraftwerk cofounder Florian Schneider, along with Afrobeat linchpin Tony Allen and Stranglers keyboardist Dave Greenfield. The excellent Simon Witter joins us to offer essential expertise on Schneider's vital part in making Kraftwerk the hugely influential group they were, with discussion revolving around our guest's epic MOJO retrospective on the electronica godfathers.RBP's regular triumvirate consider pieces by the week's featured writer Lisa Verrico, commencing with a hilarious 1994 diatribe from the Fall's Mark E. Smith. More-up-to date are her great Sunday Times profiles of cutting-edge stars...2020-05-111h 04
Rock's BackpagesE70: The Who Live at Leeds + KRLA Beat + Ron Sexsmith audioContent warning: This episode contains discussion of assault (1:02:28–1:05:20) that some listeners may find distressing. In the 70th episode of our podcast, RBP's Zooming triumvirate talk about the Who's Live at Leeds — "the greatest live album ever made," in many people's H.O. — as it reaches its half-century. Referencing Geoffrey Cannon's unabridged Guardian review from May 1970, Mark & Barney relive memories of seeing the Who live and — with Jasper — explore what made the band such a uniquely powerful live unit.The two other giants of '60s British pop feature in free pieces by KRLA Beat's Nikki "Eden" Wine...2020-04-271h 08
Rock's BackpagesE69: Martin Colyer on Greil Marcus + Lucinda Williams + Rufus WainwrightIn this week's episode, your regular co-hosts are joined for the second time by RBP's original co-founder Martin Colyer, beamed in from Leyton, to offer his invaluable thoughts on Lucinda Williams and Greil Marcus' classic Mystery Train. Williams prompts near-rapturous approval for her 1998 masterpiece Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, with Mark and Barney similarly admiring its southern poetics and Americana-defining country soul. Conversation flows seamlessly into the impact of Marcus' 1975 game-changing book, newly reissued (with lavish illustrations) by the Folio Society. Discussion of the book's chapters on Elvis Presley and The Band takes the RBP team b...2020-04-201h 00
Rock's BackpagesE66: Remembering Charlie Gillett + Johnnie Allan audioIn this week's episode, RBP's self-styled "power trio" pay tribute to the late Charlie Gillett, without whose seminal 1970 book The Sound Of The City Rock's Backpages probably wouldn't exist. It is a decade since we lost Charlie – one of the first RBP writers to come on board, back in 2000 – so we wanted to do justice to the enduring influence of The Sound, as well as to his wonderful "Honky Tonk" radio show, his Oval Records label and his passionate championing of African and other "world" music genres.Two clips from Bill Brewster's 1999 audio interview with Charlie prompt refl...2020-03-161h 02
Rock's BackpagesE65: Michael Watts on Melody Maker + Swamp Dogg + Cramps audioIn this week's episode, Mark & Barney are joined by a not-so-"Anonymous" Michael Watts, who regales his hosts with tales of life as the Walsall Observer's "Mick" Watts before reminiscing about his halcyon days as one of Melody Maker's star '70s scribes.Watts waxes poetic – not to mention humorous – about his encounters with David Bowie, Bob Dylan, the Sex Pistols and others, and about the Maker's rivalry with the N(ew) M(usical) E(xpress). Mark & Barney grill him on the MM's response to punk and hear about colleagues such as Richard Williams and Caroline Coon.2020-03-091h 04
Rock's BackpagesE63: Neil Tennant on Smash Hits + Pet Shop Boys + Andy WeatherallIn this week's episode, Mark & Barney invite the ever-entertaining Neil Tennant to look back on his time at Smash Hits magazine — and on how he became pop's ultimate poacher-turned-gamekeeper.Neil talks about mid-'70s London and about interviewing a pudgy Marc Bolan for Marvel UK. He recalls the laughter and irreverence of his 1982-85 stint at Smash Hits before the Pet Shop Boys shot to No. 1 in Britain and then America. After hearing clips of himself speaking to Steven Daly in 1996, he attempts to explain the longevity of the PSBs but takes issue with the term "national tr...2020-02-211h 19
Rock's BackpagesE61: Colleen "Cosmo" Murphy on David Mancuso and Lydia LunchIn this week's episode, Mark and Barney are joined by the delightful Colleen "Cosmo" Murphy to mark the 50th anniversary of David Mancuso's legendary first Loft party in New York City. Colleen talks about her friendship with Mancuso and about her own musical journey as a revered DJ (not to mention host of Classic Album Sundays).Barney notes the week's featured writer Daryl Easlea — and specifically his pieces on Elvis Presley the movie star and (tying in with this week's reissue of his excellent book Everybody Dance) Chic protegée Norma Jean Wright. Colleen concurs that the lat...2020-02-071h 02
Is It Rolling, Bob? Talking DylanBarney HoskynsRock journalist Barney Hoskyns comes on board for a special episode that focuses on The Band, with Dylan as their “weird” sideman. Tears Of Rage is compared to Philip Roth’s novel American Pastoral. Barney suspects it might just be “an anti-hippie song”. His “deeply emotional” attachment to the town of Woodstock is explored in depth: “overwhelmed by the mythology of the place”, he raised his kids there and explored its musical history in his book Small Town Talk (title taken from the song by Bobby Charles).After writing the acclaimed Band book Across The Great Divide, he reports on the feedback...2019-12-2641 min
Rock's BackpagesE55: David Toop on art and sound + Arthur Russell + Joe Smith R.I.P.Mark & Barney invite writer and fearless musical improviser David Toop to reminisce about his work and his long and fascinating career.Toop talks about the impact of an aunt returning from New York with a stack of rhythm & blues 78s – and how this instilled a lifelong love of black American music. After he describes his early adventures in free and improvised music, his hosts ask how a man who's collaborated with Brian Eno and Max Eastley came to profile Bros for The Face – by way of his pioneering 1984 book The Rap Attack, the first serious study of the East...2019-12-061h 06
Word In Your EarWord Podcast 310 - Barney HoskynsOn December 7th Thomas Alan Waits celebrates his 70th birthday and to mark that occasion we asked Barney Hoskyns, the author of his biography "Lowside Of The Road", to talk about what makes Waits one of the rare examples of a misfit who has prospered on his own terms. It's all here: developing his shtick entertaining the line of customers outside, choosing to dress in a way that had gone out of style twenty years before, living his character twenty four hours a day, being taken in hand both personally and professionally somewhat late in the day and eventually becoming...2019-12-0553 minWord In Your EarWord Podcast 310 - Barney HoskynsOn December 7th Thomas Alan Waits celebrates his 70th birthday and to mark that occasion we asked Barney Hoskyns, the author of his biography "Lowside Of The Road", to talk about what makes Waits one of the rare examples of a misfit who has prospered on his own terms. It's all here: developing his shtick entertaining the line of customers outside, choosing to dress in a way that had gone out of style twenty years before, living his character twenty four hours a day, being taken in hand both personally and professionally somewhat late in the day and eventually becoming...2019-12-0553 minWord In Your EarWord Podcast 310 - Barney HoskynsOn December 7th Thomas Alan Waits celebrates his 70th birthday and to mark that occasion we asked Barney Hoskyns, the author of his biography "Lowside Of The Road", to talk about what makes Waits one of the rare examples of a misfit who has prospered on his own terms. It's all here: developing his shtick entertaining the line of customers outside, choosing to dress in a way that had gone out of style twenty years before, living his character twenty four hours a day, being taken in hand both personally and professionally somewhat late in the day and eventually becoming...2019-12-0553 min
Rock's BackpagesE54: Barbara Charone on The Who + Keef Richards + Chelsea FCIn this week's episode, Mark & Barney welcome music scribe turned PR legend Barbara Charone into the RBP "cupboard" (© David Hepworth) and ask her about moving to London from her native Chicago in 1974 – along with her experiences of interviewing the Who, the Stones and other superstars of the '70s."BC" talks about befriending Keith Richards and writing his biography while staying at his Sussex home, Redlands, then reminisces about her move into PR and her decades-long association with such clients as Madonna and Robert Plant. Finally, Mark & Barney ask Barbara how she came to support the team they all thre...2019-11-221h 02
Rock's BackpagesE53: John Fogerty audio + Peter Guralnick + Céline DionIn this week's episode Mark, Barney & Jasper discuss the work of American music writer Peter Guralnick, with reference to the three free interviews featured on Rock's Backpages this week. They talk about the impact of Guralnick's books about southern soul and Elvis Presley, along with his earlier profiles of Howlin' Wolf and Charlie Rich.RBP's power trio then turns its attention to super-diva Céline Dion, subject of the week's free feature. Barney defends the empress of pop shlock against his colleagues' scorn and draws support from interviews with her by David Sinclair and Ian Gittins.2019-11-151h 01
Rock's BackpagesE52: Gene Clark + Mick Hucknall + Mick Brown on Spector & SoulIn this week's episode, Mark & Barney invite the marvellous Mick Brown to reminisce about his journey from editing mid-'60s fanzine Soulbeat to feature-writing for the Guardian and the Telegraph, via stints at Sounds and Street Life.Mick recalls his encounters with Marvin Gaye, Mac Rebennack and Phil Spector, subject of his seminal 2008 biography Tearing Down the Walls of Sound. He also weighs in on Gene Clark's cult classic No Other, of which he was an early champion on its 1974 release. He joins Mark and Barney in an extended appreciation of the troubled "Byrd Who Wouldn't Fly".The three ho...2019-11-081h 10
Rock's BackpagesE51: Bonnie Raitt + The Pop Group + Caroline Sullivan on the Bay City RollersIn this week's episode Mark & Barney welcome special guest Caroline Sullivan and hear all about her journey from New Jersey to the republic of Brightonia, discussing in the process her poptastic pieces about Girls Aloud, Adele and Courtney Love's optioning of her classic Bay City Rollers book.Jasper then rejoins the band as Caroline, citing "artistic differences", splits the crazy scene and heads back to Brighton. Talk turns to the week's other free pieces, which mark the 40th anniversary of postpunk legends the Pop Group's incendiary debut album Y.The week's new audio offering is John Toble...2019-11-011h 00
Rock's BackpagesE48: Ginger Baker audio + Elbow with David HepworthIn this week's episode of the RBP podcast, Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns are joined by special guest David Hepworth to talk about his experiences as a journalist, editor, publisher and now bestselling author.In a free-ranging conversation, your hosts hear how Dave got his start at the bottom of the NME totem pole before joining the nascent Smash Hits under Nick Logan. They also discuss his longstanding friendship with Mark Ellen, from founding Q, MOJO and The Word to presenting The Old Grey Whistle Test and the TV coverage of Live Aid. Finally, they quiz him on his new book...2019-10-111h 06
Rock's BackpagesE45: Madonna audio interview + Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight'n this week's episode, RBP's original power trio is reunited as Barney Hoskyns returns from holiday, joined by Mark Pringle and Jasper Murison-Bowie. Los tres hombres commence with a discussion of the Sugarhill Gang's groundbreaking 'Rapper's Delight', considering its place in the history of hip hop with reference to three contemporary articles about the record.The week's featured writer is Hit Parader's girl-about-town in swinging '60s London, Miranda Ward, whose scenester piece on Otis Redding and TV interview with George Harrison are discussed. Talk then turns to the week's audio interview, which features Madonna in conversation with Steven...2019-09-201h 04
Rock's BackpagesE41: Easy Rider + Arthur Lee with Richard WilliamsIn this week's episode, Barney Hoskyns and Jasper Murison-Bowie are joined by Richard Williams to discuss his long and august career in music journalism, from his writing about avant-jazz giant Albert Ayler for his local Nottingham newspaper through his stewardship of Melody Maker to his time as the Guardian's chief sportswriter. The three men talk about Ayler and the great Laura Nyro, as well as about Richard's early interview with Bob Marley, at whose UK label (Island) Richard became Head of A&R for over two years. Asked what sort of music excites him these days, Richard (and Jasper...2019-08-231h 11
Rock's BackpagesE40: Ian Penman on Prince + Charlie Parker + ZZ Top audioIn this week's episode of the Rock's Backpages Podcast, Jasper Murison-Bowie and Barney Hoskyns are joined by the great Ian Penman to discuss his new essay collection It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track – along with his late '70s/early '80s years at the NME and his subsequent writing for The Wire and the London Review of Books.Thus commences a wide-ranging conversation about everything from Frank Sinatra to Charlie Parker to Prince, via John Fahey, Nina Simone and Kate Bush. Along the way, Penman passionately disputes the received wisdom that he brought down the NME w...2019-08-161h 07
Rock's BackpagesE38: Woodstock '69 + Shirley Collins + Mark Anthony NealContent warning: This episode contains references to sexual violence and domestic abuse.Following the cancellation of Woodstock 50, regular RBP podcast hosts Mark Pringle & Barney Hoskyns are joined by occasional host Jasper Murison-Bowie to discuss the legacy of those fateful three days in August 1969. RBP's very own power trio considers contemporary reports that paint contrasting pictures: Danny Goldberg's positive story for Billboard, Miller Francis Jr.'s altogether more sanguine account for Atlanta's Great Speckled Bird, highlighting the survivalist nature of attending the festival as a punter.Featured writer of the week is Duke University professor Mark Anthon...2019-08-021h 09
Rock's BackpagesE37: Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb and The Wichita Lineman with Dylan JonesJoined by GQ editor (and sometime i-D contibutor) Dylan Jones, Mark and Barney talk about Dylan's new book The Wichita Lineman: Searching in the Sun for the World's Greatest Unfinished Song and celebrate 'Lineman''s composer Jimmy Webb and the song's original singer, the late Glen Campbell. Dylan explains how he came to write the book and the three men enthuse about Webb's ability to tell stories in song and in person.After listening to a clip from a 2005 audio interview with Webb himself, wherein he laments the lack of complexity in contemporary pop and discusses his use of harmony...2019-07-261h 00
Rock's BackpagesE36: KLF + Echo & the Bunnymen + Julian Cope with Mick HoughtonThis week, Mark and Barney are joined by Mick Houghton, Let It Rock and Sounds scribe turned beloved publicist for Echo & the Bunnymen, the Teardrop Explodes and the KLF.Discussing Mick's new book Fried and Justified, Barney addresses Mick's rage at a bad NME review of Julian Cope's World Shut Your Mouth written by... Barney himself.The three of them listen to excerpts from an unwieldy but fascinating conversation between New Orleans R&B legends Dave Bartholomew, Red Tyler and Earl Palmer, in which they discuss what makes the Crescent City so different – and hence so tricky for non-NO...2019-07-191h 03
Rock's BackpagesE34: Amy Linden on Amy Winehouse + Kanye West + Nico + Bobby WomackIn this week's episode, Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns welcome special guest Amy Linden to reminisce about reading Creem at her local library and falling in with the punk scene in San Francisco in the late '70s... and then about writing for Vibe, Spin and XXL. Amy shares stories of chasing Amy Winehouse and detesting Kanye West.The trio listen to excerpts from a 1976 Bobby Womack audio interview in which the maverick soul man – who died five years ago this week – talks about recording at Muscle Shoals with white musicians and tells of how Wilson Pickett's voice replaced his ow...2019-07-051h 05
Rock's BackpagesE33: L.A. Special with Chris Campion + Elliot Roberts audio + Little FeatIn this week's episode, Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle are joined by Chris Campion all the way from Pioneertown, California. The subject of Chris' upcoming book, John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, leads into a wide-ranging and discursive conversation about L.A. in the '60s and the music and madness of Arthur Lee and Charles Manson.Continuing the Southern California theme, the three men hear excerpts from a 1993 audio interview with the late Elliot Roberts in which the legendary manager talks about his client Joni Mitchell's house, the Eagles, and the impact of cocaine on the L...2019-07-0259 min
Rock's BackpagesE32: Go-go in D.C. + Anita Ward audio + Felix Dennis and the Oz TrialFor this week's episode, Mark, Barney and Jasper look back at Go-Go, the funk 'n' roll sound of Washington, D.C.. Discussing its influences on Swing Beat and its intersections with hip-hop, they revisit classic Go-Go articles by the NME's Richard Grabel (1984) and Simon Witter (1987), plus Don Snowden's tribute to "Go-Go godfather" Chuck Brown.Your hosts then hear a clip from an 2016 audio interview with Memphis disco queen Anita Ward, who discusses life as a one-hit-wonder – and 'Ring My Bell', the No. 1 smash in question. Barney, Mark and Jasper mark five years since the death of Felix Dennis, refle...2019-06-2156 min
Rock's BackpagesE31: Bernard Fowler's Life in Music + Dr. John audio + Andy Gill R.I.P.Hosts Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle are joined by special guest Bernard Fowler to discuss his life in music, from the Peech Boys at the Paradise Garage to working with Mick Jagger on She's the Boss and commencing a 30-year relationship with the Rolling Stones. He also regales the chaps with tales of recording a disco cover of Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick in the Wall' and explains how growing up in New York City influenced his new album of Stones covers Inside Out.Barney enthuses about Martin Scorsese's new Rolling Thunder Revue, a film about Bob Dylan's mid-'70s tour...2019-06-1457 min
Rock's BackpagesE30: Dawn James on The Beatles + Roky Erickson R.I.P. + Neil Young audioContent warning: This episode contains a description of sexual assault that some listeners may find distressing.Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns are joined by queen of Rave magazine Dawn James to hear about her wild life as a '60s pop feature writer. She remembers her friends the Beatles, reveals the identity of her most difficult interview and astonishes Mark 'n' Barney by confessing her love for ELP. She also talks about her sister Twinkle, whose career as a pop singer-songwriter is celebrated on Twinkle: Girl In A Million, a new compilation on RPM records.Paying t...2019-06-071h 06
Rock's BackpagesE29: Rickie Lee Jones + Harry Doherty + Rory Gallagher audioIn this week's episode, Barney Hoskyns and Jasper Murison-Bowie hold the fort in Mark Pringle's absence as he enjoys the sunny shores of Crete. Back in muggy London, Rickie Lee Jones is the free feature on RBP, ahead of the release of new covers album Kicks. Barney and Jasper take a look at pieces about Jones' unexpected success with 1979's 'Chuck E's in Love', as well as her drug problems and wild days with boyfriend Tom Waits.The two of them then consider pieces by Melody Maker mainstay Harry Doherty, who died five years ago: a report from a...2019-05-3158 min
Rock's BackpagesE28: Danny Fields on the Stooges + the Ramones + George Clinton audioJoined by godfather of punk Danny Fields, Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle hear tales from his time with the Stooges and the MC5, as press agent for The Doors and as manager of the Ramones. Plus, he tells the story of how Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin ended up rolling around on the floor of a bar in a big ball of cartoon smoke and fists. Primal Scream is the week's free feature, and Mark, Barney and Danny chat about their frontman Bobby Gillespie and consider the influence of Screamadelica. The three of them then listen to...2019-05-241h 04
Rock's BackpagesE27: Bruce Springsteen + Elton John + The Beatles + Stevie Wonder with Bob SpitzJoined by the legendary Danny Fields, Mark and Barney hear tales of his days with the Stooges and the MC5 – and the five years he spent managing the Ramones. He also recounts the tale of the night Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin wound up rolling around on the floor of Steve Paul's The Scene in a ball of cartoon smoke and fists.The week's free feature focuses on Primal Scream: Mark, Barney and Danny compare notes on the band's frontman Bobby Gillespie and weigh up the influence of 1991's Screamadelica. The trio then listen to excerpts from a...2019-05-1059 min
Rock's BackpagesE26: Mavis Staples + Bob Stanley/Saint Etienne + The B-52s audioThis week, Mark, Barney and Jasper start with featured artist Mavis Staples and discuss her legacy as a member of the Staple Singers – as well as her solo work with Prince and other producers.Three pieces by featured writer Bob Stanley spark discussion of Johnny Cash and self-proclaimed "best group on the planet" the Stone Roses. A 1992 interview with Saint Etienne cements Bob's "poacher turned gamekeeper" status as one third of that "meta-pop" trio.The week's audio interview is with B-52s Keith Strickland and Katie Pierson, wherein they skirt around the subject of bandmate Ricky Wils...2019-05-0352 min
Rock's BackpagesE25: Jordan's Story + Goth + Bay City Rollers with Cathi UnsworthIn this week's episode, Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns are joined by special guest Cathi Unsworth to discuss collaborating with punk icon Jordan on the autobiographical Defying Gravity: Jordan's Story. They consider the latter's influence on the London punk scene, in which women found a voice and carved out a space for themselves they hadn't previously been afforded.A long piece she wrote about the '80s Goth scene leads Cathi to reminisce about her early days on Sounds and Melody Maker. Her interviews with the late Dick Dale and with Ozzy progeny Kelly Osbourne provide the basis for...2019-04-261h 05
Rock's BackpagesE24: Al Green + Anita Pallenberg audio + ThundercatMark Pringle and Jasper Murison-Bowie explore what's new in the RBP archive this week, starting with featured artist Al Green. Three classic interviews take them through the various stages of the soul legend's career, including his gospel period and his return to secular music in more recent years.They then discuss featured writer Ann Moses, whose editorship of Tiger Beat magazine and contributions to the NME led her to interview the Beach Boys, the Monkees and many more, as described in her 2017 memoir Meow! My Life with Tiger Beat's Teen Idols.Despite his temporary absence, Barney Hosk...2019-04-1947 min
Rock's BackpagesE22: Joy Division special + Dizzee Rascal audio with Jon SavageIn this week's episode, Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle are joined by Jon Savage to talk about his new Joy Division book This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else. Jon tells the story of moving to Manchester and getting to know the band plus Tony Wilson and Martin Hannett – and speaks about how seeing Joy Division live haunts him to this day.The three men listen to excerpts from a 2007 audio interview with Dizzee Rascal, in which the breakout Grime star and interviewer Maureen Paton take a taxi ride through his old East London haunts. Dizzee tells Mauree...2019-04-0556 min
Rock's BackpagesE21: Tribute to Scott Walker + Jimi Hendrix + ABC with Keith AlthamIn this week's episode, Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle are joined by special guest Keith Altham to pay tribute to the late Scott Walker, an artist he interviewed many times for New Musical Express. They consider Walker's early years as a teen idol and as a Walker Brother, followed by his bold '60s solo albums and his radical re-emergence in the '80s. Keith talks about touring with Scott and Jimi Hendrix – and about introducing the NME to the concept of "humour".The three of them listen to a clip from an interview with Martin Fry and Mark Whi...2019-03-2954 min
Rock's BackpagesE20: Van Morrison + Pink Floyd + Steve Earle with Tony StewartThis week, Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle welcome special guest Tony Stewart to revisit the glory days of the NME – and Tony's notoriously tricky interviews with Van Morrison and Freddie Mercury. They then hear about the time Tony saw the first-ever performance of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, brought to a standstill by technical difficulties within half an hour of starting.The trio then tune into clips from a 1996 audio interview with Steve Earle, following his recovery from heroin and crack addiction. They also discuss his six (yes, six) marriages and his enduring influence as a country reb...2019-03-221h 04
Rock's BackpagesE19: Morrissey + Minnie Riperton + Madonna with James MeddJoined by RBP contributor James Medd, Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle hear tales of interviewing Morrissey and Joanna Newsom for Esquire and of life at The Word. Paying tribute to drummer Hal Blaine, one of the great American session players, the trio discuss L.A.'s legendary Wrecking Crew and marvel at just how many hits they played on. Talk then moves on to the week’s free feature, Lambchop, via another great session player, Charlie McCoy – a stellar guest on their forthcoming album. James, Mark and Barney hear an excerpt from an audio interview with the late great Minnie Ri...2019-03-1554 min
Rock's BackpagesE18: The Prodigy's Keith Flint R.I.P. + Jayne County audio interviewIn the absence of Mr. Mark Pringle, Barney Hoskyns and Jasper Murison-Bowie pay tribute to Keith Flint of the Prodigy, revisiting three articles from the RBP archive, including an interview conducted during the shoot for the 'Firestarter' video.Three pieces by the week's featured writer Jeff Tamarkin spark discussion of Bay Area musicians Marty Balin, Greg Kihn and the Residents before talk turns to a brief but brilliant 1985 audio interview with Jayne County. Contemplating her influence as the first open transwoman in rock, Barney and Jasper listen to an excerpt from Ira Robbins' phone interview in which she talks of...2019-03-0842 min
Rock's BackpagesE17: Remembering Mark Hollis + Dead Kennedys Audio + Mark LevitonPaying tribute to the late Mark Hollis, Mark Pringle, Barney Hoskyns and Jasper Murison-Bowie consider the Talk Talk frontman's huge influence on "post-rock" (and even trip-hop) and trace the band's evolution from early '80s synth-pop to 1988's beautiful jazz/classical-influenced Spirit of Eden.The trio then hear an excerpt from the week's new audio interview, recorded in 1981 with Dead Kennedys Jello Biafra and Klaus Fluoride, and discuss the California punk scene (and rise of American indie). Mark Leviton is the week's featured writer, commencing with his account of a week on a recent "rock cruise" – Pringle's idea of "h...2019-03-0153 min
Rock's BackpagesE16: Curtis Mayfield + Sigue Sigue Sputnik + History of RBP with Martin ColyerTogether with special guest (and RBP co-founder) Martin Colyer, Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns consider soul giant Curtis Mayfield and his enduring influence. They hear a snippet of Julian Henry's 1985 audio interview with the absurd Sigue Sigue Sputnik – and talk about how Tony James and co. crashed down to earth despite their stratospheric ambitions. There's a brief discussion of pieces by featured writer Mac Randall on Robert Wyatt & Bill Nelson, Linda Thompson and Beck, leading on to a rundown of what's new in the archive for the subscribers, led by chief archivist Pringle: specifically, articles on Del Shannon, Diana Ross, Keith Ric...2019-02-2255 min
Rock's BackpagesE15: Radiohead, Gladys Knight and Daft PunkBarney Hoskyns is joined by Mark Pringle and Jasper Murison-Bowie to discuss the week's free feature, which coincides with the publication of RBP's new Radiohead anthology Present Tense. While Mark can't abide Thom Yorke's "middle class pain", Barney deems the 'head to be The Greatest British Band of the past 25 years. Jasper meanwhile describes his "pivotal" role in the Radiohead story: clapping along as a 10-year-old to In Rainbows' '15 Step'.Los tres hombres hear an excerpt from Cliff White's 1976 audio interview with Gladys Knight & the Pips and enthuse wildly about the lady before considering three free pieces by Jon...2019-02-1548 min
Rock's BackpagesE13: Sid Vicious does it his way + Bobbie Gentry's Delta SweeteThis week, Sid Vicious talks about the Sex Pistols splitting up and his inimitable cover of 'My Way' in clips from a previously unheard audio interview by John Tobler. RBP podcast host Mark Pringle is joined in Barney Hoskyns' absence by Jasper Murison-Bowie to listen to it and, predictably, talk about it. They contemplate Sid's sadness at the band coming to an end, as well as his endorsement of Nancy Spungen as his manager, who he thinks will take the music industry by storm. Moving on to the week's free feature, Bobbie Gentry, ahead of an upcoming reimagining of her albu...2019-02-0143 min
Rock's BackpagesE12: Big Star + Prefab Sprout with special guest Jennifer Otter BickerdikeWelcoming special guest, featured writer and hilarious raconteur Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, hosts Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns hear stories of Jennifer's days in the record business, including the time her car broke down with Kurt Cobain in it... as well as her subsequent decision to give it all up to write a PhD on Joy Division. Having moved to a rat-infested flat in London's New Cross, Jennifer's initial thought was: "My god, what have I done?" She has since gone from strength to strength as the queen of rockademia and global music ambassador for BIMM. Her books Joy Devotion and Wh...2019-01-2555 min
Rock's BackpagesE11: The Specials + Dave Laing + Juliana HatfieldHailing 'Ghost Town' as "one of the great British records", RBP podcast hosts Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns consider The Specials and their politically conscious combination of punk and ska. They then pay tribute to Dave Laing and reflect on his role in the influential Let It Rock magazine, presenting pieces of Dave's on John Martyn, a Bill Monroe live show in a Scottish monastery and singer-songwriters from Jim Croce to John Denver. The week’s audio interview sees Juliana Hatfield in conversation with Ira Robbins about not wanting to get pigeonholed as the Lemonheads' bassist and her subsequent solo album Hey B...2019-01-1838 min
Rock's BackpagesE10: Earth, Wind & Fire + 1960s–80s music press with special guest Mark SinkerJoined by special guest Mark Sinker, RBP's Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle discuss A Hidden Landscape Once A Week, an anthology on the "unruly curiosity" of the UK's music press from the late '60s to the '80s. Moving on to the week's free feature, goth-punks the Flesh Eaters and their contemporaries the Gun Club spark a discussion of the L.A. scene in the early '80s. The tres hombres then talk about Earth, Wind & Fire's metaphysical funk and the philosophical ramblings of mainman Maurice White (as heard in clips from a 1979 interview by Cliff – no relation – White). Furth...2019-01-1147 min
Rock's BackpagesE8: Keith Richards on drug busts + Mick Jagger in PerformanceFeaturing exclusive clips of an increasingly intoxicated Keith Richards during a 2002 interview by Adam Sweeting, this week's RBP podcast could be described as a Rolling Stones special if there weren't so many other things being discussed. Lauding Keef as the band's heart and soul and asking "how has this man made it to 75", Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns wax lyrical about the brilliant Performance. Directed by the late Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell – with a Jack Nitzsche soundtrack Barney describes as one of the "creepiest, weirdest, but most mesmerising" he's ever heard, Performance sums up the transition from '60s flower power...2018-12-2142 min
Rock's BackpagesE7: Be-Bop Deluxe + Wu-Tang Clan + David BowieIn this week's podcast, hear Be-Bop Deluxe's Bill Nelson reminiscing (in February 1978) with Ian Ravendale about starting bands in school and working on the Futurama album with Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker... followed by your hosts Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns discussing Staten Island hip hop collective the Wu-Tang Clan. Attention then turns to featured writer Tim Cooper and his Heathen-era interview with David Bowie. New library pieces under the spotlight include a 1962 letter to Record Mirror from Frank Sinatra fan Fred Dellar; Paul Morley's 1977 NME live review of Little Feat; the return of jazz giant Dexter Gordon; and an unsavoury encounte...2018-12-1442 min
Rock's BackpagesE6: Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry + the birth of Americana + NYC in the 70sBryan Ferry of Roxy Music talks about interpreting the music of others, resents being called a country gent and loves vinyl. Your hosts Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle debate whether For Your Pleasure or Stranded is the better album, contemplate country and Americana and explore featured writer's Susin Shapiro's New York escapades, which include an interview with Patti Smith about Horses. Next, Barney and Mark consider Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man, recorded at Muscle Shoals, and Joe Zawinul of Weather Report, probably their favourite 'fusion' band. Returning to New York, they reflect on New Wave in response to Robert Duncan...2018-12-0739 min
Rock's BackpagesE5: Led Zeppelin + Kate Bush with special guest John MendelssohnWelcoming special guest and featured writer John Mendelssohn, RBP's Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle present an excerpt from an interview with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and discuss the finer points of rock criticism with John, including the glamour of being threatened by Led Zeppelin from the stage at one of their gigs. Ahead of the publication of a new book of Kate Bush's lyrics, the three of them consider Wuthering Heights (John liked it, Barney didn't, and Mark hated it so much that he didn't listen to her music again for two decades) and discuss Mendelssohn's own book on the si...2018-11-3046 min
Rock's BackpagesE4: Etta James talks in 1978 + Marc Bolan + Willie NelsonEtta James considers her life in RnB up to 1978—'Roll With Me Henry', Johnny Otis, Chess Records and working with Rick Hall. Your hosts Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns in turn consider her impact on singers from Janis Joplin to Adele and discuss featured writer Rob Partridge, raunchy and/or art-rock Royal Trux, and Jobriath. Their attentions then turn to Burl Ives, Marc Bolan and the joy of seeing Willie Nelson live, before they start disagreeing about Portishead as well as The Fugees, with Barney stubbornly refusing to be snobbish about their album The Score. Produced by Jasper Murison-Bowie2018-11-2333 min
Rock's BackpagesE3: Exclusive Sex Pistols interview + Chic + David HepworthBerating "idiot" Malcolm McLaren and "poxy" Vivienne Westwood, Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious hold forth, slagging off everyone under the sun, or at least everyone they can think of, in a 1977 interview with John Tobler. RBP podcast hosts Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle do some holding forth of their own, about the Sex Pistols (naturally) but also about Chic, featured writer David Hepworth, Nico, Gene Clark and Luther Vandross. Hailing Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards as "two of the greatest players of any musical instrument in any musical medium", Barney and Mark enthuse about disco, discuss the state of electronic music in...2018-11-1635 min
Rock's BackpagesE2: Massive Attack + Rosanne Cash + the night Johnny Thunders died"Massive Attack [...] bores me to tears", says Mark Pringle ahead of their 20th-anniversary tour of Mezzanine. Following some discussion of the Bristol Scene, he and Barney Hoskyns consider this week's featured writer Terry Staunton. They then present an excerpt from a 2014 interview with Roseanne Cash in which she talks to Adam Sweeting about revisiting the south of the USA, which plays at the end of the podcast. Talk then turns to Joan Baez, Steve Marriott of The Small Faces and Marianne Faithfull, the latter of which turns out to be the starting point for a conversation about addiction and drug abuse, f...2018-11-0944 min
Rock's BackpagesE1: Freddie Mercury talking about Bohemian Rhapsody + Joni Mitchell at 75 + the Wu-Tang ClanHear an excerpt from a 1976 interview between Freddie Mercury and Robert Duncan of Creem about 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (among other things). Your hosts Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle then consider this week's additions to the Rock's Backpages archive, including pieces on Joni Mitchell, Lionel Richie, Randy Newman and the Rolling Stones at the height of their devilish mythology. While discussing Neil Kulkarni's rave review of Wu-Tang Clan's Forever, Barney and Mark recall the time they met Wu-Tang's U-God at San Francisco airport.Produced by Jasper Murison-BowiePieces discussed: Queen's Freddie Mercury, Keith Moon, Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt, The Runaways, ...2018-11-0231 minWord In Your EarWord Podcast 261 - Barney HoskynsIn which Barney Hoskyns talks to us about Woodstock and the part it played in the lives of Dylan, the Band, Albert Grossman and Van Morrison, as related in his book “Small Town Talk”. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2017-02-1355 minWord In Your EarWord Podcast 261 - Barney HoskynsIn which Barney Hoskyns talks to us about Woodstock and the part it played in the lives of Dylan, the Band, Albert Grossman and Van Morrison, as related in his book “Small Town Talk”. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2017-02-1355 minWord In Your EarWord Podcast 261 - Barney HoskynsIn which Barney Hoskyns talks to us about Woodstock and the part it played in the lives of Dylan, the Band, Albert Grossman and Van Morrison, as related in his book “Small Town Talk”. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2017-02-1355 min
Martin Bandyke Under Covers | Ann Arbor District LibraryMartin Bandyke Under Covers: Barney Hoskyns, Author of "Small Town Talk"Martin talks to author Barney Hoskyns about his new book Small Town Talk: Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock.
Think "Woodstock" and the mind turns to the seminal 1969 festival that crowned a seismic decade of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. But the town of Woodstock, New York, the original planned venue of the concert, is located over 60 miles from the site to which the fabled half a million flocked. Long before the landmark music festival usurped the name, Woodstock—the tiny Catskills town where Bob Dylan holed up...2016-06-0827 min
Listen, Escape, Enjoy With Full AudiobookSmall Town Talk: Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock Audiobook by Barney HoskynsListen to this audiobook in full for free onhttps://hotaudiobook.com/freeID: 317212
Title: Small Town Talk: Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock
Author: Barney Hoskyns
Narrator: Mike Chamberlain
Format: Unabridged
Length: 13:05:50
Language: English
Release date: 03-29-16
Publisher: Tantor Media
Genres: History, North America
Summary:
When musicians in the New York folk scene of the 1960s grew tired of city life, they decided to 'get it together in the country.' They headed for Woodstock-not the site of the infamous music festival of 1969 but to the Catskills, to...2016-03-291h 05
John Kennedy's X-Posure PodcastEpisode 211 - Barney HoskynsBarney Hoskyns and John Kennedy chat about his new book Small Town Talk all about the town that inspired Woodstock on X-Posure, Radio X2016-03-2100 min
Full Audiobook: Your Gateway to Knowledge and EntertainmentGlam!: Bowie, Bolan and the Glitter Revolution Audiobook by Barney HoskynsListen to this audiobook in full for free onhttps://hotaudiobook.com/freeID: 780567
Title: Glam!: Bowie, Bolan and the Glitter Revolution
Author: Barney Hoskyns
Narrator: Joanna Hall
Format: Unabridged
Length: 04:34:29
Language: English
Release date: 04-28-14
Publisher: Findaway Voices
Genres: Non-Fiction, Art & Music
Summary:
From Oscar Wilde to Ziggy Stardust, from Liberace to Lou Reed and T Rex to Roxy Music, here is the flamboyant decadence, the androgyny, and the sheer unadulterated fun of the early Seventies -- in an incredible rock history that tells it like it was.
Contact: info@hotaudiobook.com2014-04-284h 34
Discover the Best Sellers Audiobooks in Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & MusiciansLed Zeppelin IV Audiobook by Barney HoskynsListen to this audiobook in full for free onhttp://hotaudiobook.comTitle: Led Zeppelin IV
Subtitle: Rock of Ages
Author: Barney Hoskyns
Narrator: Barney Hoskyns
Format: Unabridged
Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
Language: English
Release date: 04-28-14
Publisher: Talking Music
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 7 votes
Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians
Publisher's Summary:
The revealing backstory of the album with no name that spawned 'When the Levee Breaks', 'Black Dog,' 'Stairway to Heaven', and 'Rock 'n' Roll'. Four tracks each side; eight killers, no fillers. This is how they did it.
Members Reviews:
Much More Than IV, Unfortunately
About half...2014-04-283h 50Discover the Best Sellers Audiobooks in Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & MusiciansLed Zeppelin IV Audiobook by Barney HoskynsPlease visit https://thebookvoice.com to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.
Title: Led Zeppelin IV
Subtitle: Rock of Ages
Author: Barney Hoskyns
Narrator: Barney Hoskyns
Format: Unabridged
Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
Language: English
Release date: 04-28-14
Publisher: Talking Music
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 7 votes
Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians
Publisher's Summary:
The revealing backstory of the album with no name that spawned 'When the Levee Breaks', 'Black Dog,' 'Stairway to Heaven', and 'Rock 'n' Roll'. Four tracks each side; eight killers, no fillers. This is how they did it.
Members Reviews:
Much More Than...2014-04-283h 50
Full Audiobook: Your Gateway to Knowledge and EntertainmentHotel California Audiobook by Barney HoskynsListen to this audiobook in full for free onhttps://hotaudiobook.com/freeID: 780095
Title: Hotel California
Author: Barney Hoskyns
Narrator: Nick Landrum
Format: Unabridged
Length: 11:19:25
Language: English
Release date: 04-01-14
Publisher: Findaway Voices
Genres: Non-Fiction, Art & Music
Summary:
The classic account of the LA Canyons scene between 1967 and 1976 featuring Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, The Eagles, James Taylor and Jackson Browne. Ambition, betrayal, drugs and genius all combine with great music making.
Contact: info@hotaudiobook.com2014-04-0211h 19Full Audiobook: Your Gateway to Knowledge and EntertainmentLed Zeppelin IV Audiobook by Barney HoskynsListen to this audiobook in full for free onhttps://hotaudiobook.com/freeID: 780568
Title: Led Zeppelin IV
Author: Barney Hoskyns
Narrator: Barney Hoskyns
Format: Unabridged
Length: 03:50:17
Language: English
Release date: 04-01-14
Publisher: Findaway Voices
Genres: Non-Fiction, Art & Music
Summary:
The revealing back-story of the album with-no-name that spawned 'When The Levee Breaks', 'Black Dog,' 'Stairway To Heaven' and 'Rock 'n' Roll' Four tracks each side; eight killers, no fillers. This is how they did it.
Contact: info@hotaudiobook.com2014-04-013h 50
Love That AlbumLove That Album Bonus episode - Interview with Barney Hoskyns about Tom WaitsI present to you a bonus episode of Love That Album, a sort of companion piece to the forthcoming episode 46 of the podcast.
Episode 46 proper will feature a discussion between Alex Ladd (aka Loaf) of the Silva and Gold podcast and myself about two great albums by Tom Waits – “The Heart of Saturday Night” and “Rain Dogs”.
This bonus episode however, features an interview I had with acclaimed rock biographer and journalist Barney Hoskyns. Barney has written a superb biography of Tom Waits called “Low Side of the Road”, and we discuss these albums and Waits’ career in general. He was absolutel...2013-06-0658 min
Todd Rundgren Talk RadioRundgren Radio With Special Guest Barney HoskynsSpecial Guest Barney Hoskyns, writer for MOJO Magazine.2008-05-191h 57
The TRConnection ToddCast PodcastToddCast #0096 - Rerundgren Radio Episode #41 - Barney Hoskyns - Mon May 19, 2008<img src="http://TRConnection.com/pictures/rr.jpg" style="width: 100px; height: 100px; float: left; padding-right: 5px;">
Special Guest Barney Hoskyns<br clear="left">2008-05-1900 min