Shows
Music Maps Podcast83 - LIVE Street Level Superstar with Lawrence, Will Hodgkinson & Sian PattendenJoin us for a LIVE episode with Lawrence, Will Hodgkinson & Sian Pattenden to discuss STREET LEVEL SUPERSTAR - one of the best music books of all time. We retrace Lawrence’s career from Felt & Denim to Mozart Estate & through to the present day. It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps...
2025-09-2759 minMusic Maps Podcast83 - LIVE Street Level Superstar with Lawrence, Will Hodgkinson & Sian PattendenJoin us for a LIVE episode with Lawrence, Will Hodgkinson & Sian Pattenden to discuss STREET LEVEL SUPERSTAR - one of the best music books of all time. We retrace Lawrence’s career from Felt & Denim to Mozart Estate & through to the present day. It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps...
2025-09-2759 min
latr.fmBandsplainBandsplainThe RingerBandsplain is a show where host Yasi Salek invites experts to explain cult bands and iconic artists - and why people love... moreRemembering Ozzy Osbourne, with Kory Grow and Rob HarvillaRob Harvilla and Rolling Stone senior writer Kory Grow join Yasi to discuss Ozzy Osbourne’s bodies of work with Black... more25 Jul 2025 · 54 minutesMOVIE NIGHT: ‘Pavements’ With Hua Hsu, Plus an Interview With Director Alex Ross PerryYasi chats with New Yorker staff writer, Pulitzer prize–winning author, and known Pav...
2025-08-0600 min
BandsplainPulp: Part 2 (1994 to Forever?) with Siân PattendenSo you wanna live like the Common People do? It’s time for part two of the Pulp story in which Yasi and music journalist and Pulpologist Siân Pattenden start back up at the peak of Britpop, tracing how “the great interlopers” of the genre captured the spirit and sound of the time with Different Class, and then soundtracked the comedown with This Is Hardcore — Britpop’s bleary-eyed hangover (or maybe - a conversation with god???). Then it’s into the Weeds: a retreat from fame into nature, the album We Love Life, and the band’s 2000s revival and fir...
2025-05-222h 37
BandsplainPulp: Part 2 (1994 to Forever?) with Siân PattendenSo you wanna live like the Common People do? It’s time for part two of the Pulp story in which Yasi and music journalist and Pulpologist Siân Pattenden start back up at the peak of Britpop, tracing how “the great interlopers” of the genre captured the spirit and sound of the time with Different Class, and then soundtracked the comedown with This Is Hardcore — Britpop’s bleary-eyed hangover (or maybe - a conversation with god???). Then it’s into the Weeds: a retreat from fame into nature, the album We Love Life, and the band’s 2000s revival and fir...
2025-05-222h 37
The Heritage Chart Show ShowThe Heritage Chart Show Show Episode EightOur special guest this time is Louis Eliot from Rialto! In this episode we talk Sweet, Limahl, The Jam, Grace Jones and ping pong, pints of Fairy liquid, sandwich fillings, seeing famous people in supermarkets and all that surrounds the peculiar and marvellous alternative universe that is Mike Read's Heritage Chart. Rialto's new album Neon and Ghost Signs is wonderful, and out now (there's even a glow in the dark vinyl version!!!!!). If you like the show and want to buy us a virtual coffee, you can do so: https://buymeacoffee.com/peteandsian. THANK YOU. Hosted on Acast. See...
2025-05-191h 29
BandsplainPulp: Part 1 (1978! through 1994) with Siân PattendenIn today’s episode, we trace Pulp's story, starting from high school talent show stars up through the moment they become Britpop major players. Yasi is joined by British music journalist, author, and former Good Mixer regular Siân Pattenden to help red string board the many iterations of Pulp from 1978 through the moment it really clicked with His N Hers in 1994. EPISODE PLAYLIST:Listen to the songs we talk about HERE.CREDITS:Host: Yasi Salek @yasisalekGuest: Siân Pattenden IG: @sian_super...
2025-05-153h 42
BandsplainPulp: Part 1 (1978! through 1994) with Siân PattendenIn today’s episode, we trace Pulp's story, starting from high school talent show stars up through the moment they become Britpop major players. Yasi is joined by British music journalist, author, and former Good Mixer regular Siân Pattenden to help red string board the many iterations of Pulp from 1978 through the moment it really clicked with His N Hers in 1994.
EPISODE PLAYLIST:
Listen to the songs we talk about HERE.
CREDITS:
Host: Yasi Salek @yasisalek
Guest: Siân Pattenden IG: @sian_super...
2025-05-153h 43
Rock's BackpagesSiân Pattenden on Select + the Bangles + David JohansenFor this episode we're joined in person by the delightful Siân Pattenden, author of the Agatha Bilke and Magical Peppers children's book series.We start by asking our guest about her early years as a child actor and teenage playwright before she describes the fanzines she published with her pal Nicky Fijalkowska. We hear how these helped to get her foot in the door at Smash Hits, the million-selling pop bi-weekly she joined in 1989. Quotes from classic Hits pieces she wrote are interspersed with hilarious recollections of working alongside Tom Doyle and Sylvia Patterson. From "Ver Hits" we m...
2025-03-101h 17
The Heritage Chart Show ShowThe Heritage Chart Show Show Episode SevenAnd... we're back! Welcome to season two of the Heritage Chart Show Show, with your hosts Pete Paphides and Siân Pattenden. This week's special guest is The Loft and Weather Prophet icon Pete Astor. Listen! As Pete navigates the choppy waters of Mike Read's Heritage Chart Show 4th anniversary "live show" special. Presented as a Top of the Pops-style "best of" we see such Heritage Acts as Limahl, Leee John, Paul Young, Owen Paul (of course), The Fizz and a host of other people singing in front of one of Mike's banners. Also! A note from Sir Cliff! What w...
2025-02-211h 23
HellishSiân Pattenden, journalist (+ LOADS more!)Writer, broadcaster, artist, child actor, musician, podcaster, and brief Doctor Who companion SIÂN PATTENDEN gives us the five tracks she will meet in Hell!Siân talks to us about Smash Hits, The Heritage Chart Show and her podcast The Heritage Chart Show Show, not being able to settle on just one thing, what she will always be known for according to some random bloke, AND the worst job she has ever done.Siân's art is at raw-art.co.uk, and you can hear the Rutherford Chang White Album project we tal...
2025-02-031h 05
Music Maps Podcast35 - BRITPOP LIVE - Blur v Oasis, Pulp, Elastica, Suede, Glastonbury & more with Miranda Sawyer & Sian PattendenJoin us as we present our first live episode - recorded at one of our live events here in Walthamstow, East London - talking all things Britpop & the 90's with Miranda Sawyer & Sian Pattenden.Including Suede, Blur, Elastica, Sleeper, Pulp, Oasis, The Verve, Robbie Williams, Tricky, Glastonbury & a lot more. It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at th...
2024-10-301h 11Music Maps Podcast35 - BRITPOP LIVE - Blur v Oasis, Pulp, Elastica, Suede, Glastonbury & more with Miranda Sawyer & Sian PattendenJoin us as we present our first live episode - recorded at one of our live events here in Walthamstow, East London - talking all things Britpop & the 90's with Miranda Sawyer & Sian Pattenden.Including Suede, Blur, Elastica, Sleeper, Pulp, Oasis, The Verve, Robbie Williams, Tricky, Glastonbury & a lot more. It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at th...
2024-10-301h 11
The Heritage Chart Show ShowThe Heritage Chart Show Show Episode SixOn this episode we talk to the exciting musical project that is Hifi Sean and David McAlmont, introducing them to a programme they had never witnessed before... Mike Read's Heritage Chart. Today the artists include: an old Gary Numan track which you probably couldn't release now, Reba McEntire, “Katrina” singing to her poodle, The Wombles, Albert Lee, Mal Pope defying the government (or something), The Automatics, Danielle Nicholls yoga teacher and more. At least one track uses the medium of song to say thank you to the people who helped her in life because they’re dead so she c...
2024-09-121h 38
The Heritage Chart Show ShowThe Heritage Chart Show Show Episode FiveOn this episode... Actor Caroline Catz dissects the Heritage Chart as she joins us on a journey of discovery, self-acceptance, bemusement and profundity that accompanies the liminal world of Mike Read's show. On this episode we discuss Deep Purple and their assistants, Pet Shop Boys' infinite sadness, Bill Wyman's double entendre's, Fairground Attraction on a barge, the cognitive dissonance of Right Said Fred, Mungo Jerry and a German interview, Coldplay's panglobal-benicetoeachother-osity, Nick Lowe's party inc. the best party we've ever been to AND Throbbing Gristle. ALSO - please note whenever Siân says Ulrika Jonsson she means ANNEKA RICE.
2024-08-271h 15
The Heritage Chart Show ShowThe Heritage Chart Show Show Episode FourEpisode four of the Heritage Chart Show Show! Where we talk about a furious McFly, a sanguine Pet Shop Boys, Owen Paul (again) (and his mobile phone), the best hip hop bpm to jog to, Tony Hadley appearing in the night sky, bad green screen, Belinda Carlisle's lack of furniture and much, much more. Our guest is our man behind the wheels-of-steel, DJ Yoda. You can buy us a virtual coffee to help with our studio costs: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/peteandsian Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-05-271h 25
The Heritage Chart Show ShowThe Heritage Chart Show Show Episode ThreeEpisode three of the Heritage Chart Show Show! Where we talk about The Fizz, Tight Fit, Jive Aces, Owen Paul, UB40, the infinity of post-fame legal Band Name wrangling, meta band members, Ralph McTell (is Life), Professional Spooning and much, much more. Our guest is author, campaigner and cosmetics boffin Sali Hughes, who's a huge fan of the Heritage Chart Show. You can buy us a virtual coffee to help with our studio costs: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/peteandsian Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-04-201h 28
The Heritage Chart Show ShowThe Heritage Chart Show Show Episode TwoEpisode two of the Heritage Chart Show Show! Where we talk about Mike Read's crafted narrative, pop star delusion vs passion, bv foxtrels, houses that look like their owners, Restraining Order Rock and much, much more. Our esteemed guest is Sean Rowley who is a DJ, broadcaster, ex-TV plugger and the man who invented the Guilty Pleasures empire.Also! You can buy us a virtual coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/peteandsian Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-03-271h 22
The Heritage Chart Show ShowThe Heritage Chart Show Show Episode OneWe talk about Mike Read's Heritage Chart Show episode 46 with Lawrence from Mozart Estate, Go Kart Mozart and Felt. Wot? Yes, you can buy us a virtual coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/peteandsian Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-02-2150 min
The Bunker – News without the nonsenseWho run the world? Freemasons? – The truth about your favourite conspiracyThe Freemasons are often blamed when things go wrong. But are they behind a global conspiracy or are they just a glorified men’s drinking club? Siân Pattenden is joined by historian John Dickie, author of The Craft: How the Freemasons Made the Modern World, to discover the truth behind this secretive fraternal group who have been blamed for everything – from corrupting the police to the global financial crash.
“They have nothing to do with stonemasons but still use their symbols as moral metaphors.”
“The secrets are extraordinarily mundane.”
“It’s not the content of the secrets, i...
2023-05-2130 min
The Bunker – News without the nonsenseNumber crunching: How the rich dodge taxNext to births and deaths, taxes are one of life's only certainties. But with a tax system made up of a bewildering mish-mash of rates and loopholes, who are the winners and losers? And how can the system be hacked? Siân Pattenden is joined by the top-secret Rebel Accountant, author of Taxtopia, to explore how the tax system is scamming us all. “The poorest in society pay the most amount of tax – the whole system is rigged.”www.patreon.com/bunkercastWritten and presented by Siân Pattenden. Producer...
2023-04-0530 min
The Bunker – News without the nonsenseReasonable doubt: How society got its rules wrongMost people consider themselves reasonable. But are they? And what rules is that notion defined by? Siân Pattenden is joined by Kirsty Sedgman, author of On Being Unreasonable, to discuss what the response to breastfeeding in public, noisy theatre audiences, neighbourhood watch indiscretions and Edward Coulston show about society today – and whether our collective rules might be wrong.
““Being ‘reasonable’ has usually meant being a man.”
“The NextDoor app shows us the dangers of thinking you are reasonable – when really you aren’t.”
“We need to take acting ‘reasonably’ seriously because it involves policing and power.”
“Who are the rul...
2023-03-1932 min
The Bunker – News without the nonsenseCome Spy With Me: An insider's look at espionageHollywood has shaped how we see spies – but who are these people who secretly walk among us? How hard is it to become one? Siân Pattenden unpacks the world of espionage, and discusses why the next James Bond will be a woman with Ava Glass, author of the new spy novel The Chase, who previously worked alongside spies in the civil service.
“The highest level of security clearance takes a whole year to pass.”
“Spies rarely wear tuxedos and drink martinis.”
www.patreon.com/bunkercastWr...
2023-02-2828 min
The Bunker – News without the nonsenseVolodymyr Zelensky: The comedian who wanted to be President of PeaceZelensky’s story of a comedian turned President of Ukraine and now war leader is stranger than fiction. So who is the man we have cheered on as he stands up to the Russian invasion? Siân Pattenden is joined by journalist Steven Derix, co-author of the new biography Zelensky, to take a peek behind the curtain of a life lived in the media spotlight, before being thrown into violent conflict.
“Ukraine is one of the countries least known to the public.”
“He’s a boss everywhere he goes.”
“His parents wanted him to be a diplomat, which is ironic given...
2023-02-2432 min
The Bunker – News without the nonsenseWinter is coming. Can the NHS survive it?It’s hard to remember a time when the NHS wasn’t at ‘breaking point’. But with more than 7 million people in England on the NHS waiting list, real-term wage decreases, over-stretched ambulance services, and impending strike action from nurses – can it make it through the winter? Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research at the Health Foundation, joins Siân Pattenden to weigh up if there is any hope of saving it.
“The NHS staff are wracked with trauma post-Covid.”
“We ran the NHS hot at the edge of capacity before the pandemic.”
“Pay is far from the central factor...
2022-11-3028 min
The Bunker – News without the nonsenseThe war on the BBC and how to save itThe BBC is constantly under siege – how can it survive the 360 degree onslaught it faces? Does it make a rod for its own back? Or is stuck in a perennial catch-22? Siân Pattenden is joined by Patrick Barwise author of The War Against the BBC, to discuss the embattled broadcaster.
“People pay for far more services that they don’t use than paying for the BBC.”
“What is contested is impartiality.”
“The organised attacks on the BBC come from the Right.”
“It is a miracle it's so productive given how tightly it has been squeezed.”
2022-11-1326 min
BigmouthCulture Bunker: The Specials’ Lynval Golding, The Farewell on Netflix plus Public Service BroadcastingHear the music from every edition on our rolling playlist.Our new weekend pop culture roundtable returns with special guest Lynval Golding of The Specials, and their latest album, Protest Songs. Journalist Ian Harrison joins us to chew on new films The Farewell and Sweetheart, and we all listen to Bright Magic, the latest offering from Public Service Broadcasting.
"The history of music can almost be seen as one long protest song." - Sian Pattenden.
"I was born in Jamaica, I am living in America, but England is my home." - Lynval Golding
"Gay men get...
2021-09-261h 03
Back to NOW!NOW 16 - Autumn ‘89: Siân PattendenIt’s autumn 1989 and a decade where pop has transformed itself into an all encompassing mass culture is drawing to a spectacular close. Ten years have seen huge growth in music sales and an explosion of genres, with rock morphing through glam metal and beyond, disco had danced through electro towards a new house, and hip hop had grown from the streets of New York to become an emerging and exciting influence on global pop culture. The nineties are almost here, but first the Now That’s What I Call Music team are set upon closing this unforgettable decade with some...
2021-07-081h 09
BigmouthSleaford Mods’ Jason is our guest, Bowie biopic, Bicep, KLFOn the actual day that new album Spare Ribs comes out, Jason from Sleaford Mods joins Siân, Andrew and guest Iestyn “NME/GQ/Golf Punk” George for pop’s most penetrating panel. On the agenda: that weird-looking Bowie movie Stardust (is it as terrible as they say?). Domestic bangers from Belfast’s Bicep. A movie about the KLF becoming undertakers – a grave experience? And the time Jason won a competition in Mixmag. Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Alex Rees. Bigmouth is a Podmasters production. See acast.com/priv...
2021-01-161h 09
BigmouthThe Serpent, Viagra Boys, Soul on Disney+, 2021 movie previewIs BBC1’s hippy-murderin’ heart of darkness horror show The Serpent what we need in a cold January? Why should you bone up on the new album from Viagra Boys? How did Disney/Pixar’s ‘Wonderful Life for kids’ Soul illuminate our Christmas? And a preview of the movies you might see in 2021. Deputy Editor of Esquire Magazine Johnny Davis and film critic Linda Marric (NME, HeyUGuys, Jewish Chronicle) join Andrew and Siân to sort it all out. Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Alex Rees. Bigmouth is a Podmasters pr...
2021-01-091h 02
BigmouthBest of 2020 Part 2 feat. Baxter Dury, Childish Gambino, I Hate Suzie, Khruangbin and more…An appalling year comes to a glittering crescendo as Alexis Petridis of The Guardian and Pete Paphides – rock’n’roll impresario at vinyl Mecca Needle Mythology and author of Broken Greek – join us to select their (and Siân’s!) “fave raves” of the year. And here’s the playlist… Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Alex Rees. Bigmouth is a Podmasters production. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2020-12-191h 13
BigmouthBest of 2020 Part 1 feat. Mrs America, Paul Weller, Róisín Murphy, John Boyega, Cornershop and more…God, is it that time of year again? Repeat offender guests Jude Rogers of The Guardian and Eamonn Forde of The Final Days of EMI: Selling the Pig fame join Siân and Andrew to choose their favourite albums, tracks, TV things and hidden gems of this terrible, terrible year for everything except pop and telly. More next week…And if you want to enjoy our guests’ music selections they’re all here on a Spotify playlist. Hurrah! Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Bigmouth...
2020-12-1252 min
BigmouthShane MacGowan biopic, Avalanches, Mank on NetflixIn Julien Temple’s biopic Crock Of Gold, Shane MacGowan is a wheezing wreck of himself. Is the Pogues frontman a neglected poet, a cautionary tale, an Irish hero or all three and more?Plus The Avalanches take the cut-and-paste sampledelic collage to wildly ambitious new places. And is David Fincher’s Mank – about the self-destructive alcoholic who wrote Citizen Kane – a work of dedication or just Orson Welles cosplay?Hannah Verdier of The Guardian and Sophie Harris of Mojo and Rolling Stone join Andrew and Siân to sort it all out.Produced...
2020-12-051h 03
BigmouthBelushi on Sky, High Contrast, Mogul MowgliJohn Belushi: kamikaze genius, drug disaster, wounded soul or all three? An epic new biography on Sky Documentaries tries to explain. Plus guest Robin Turner on his memoir of Heavenly Records, grown-up jungle from High Contrast, and Riz Ahmed’s portrait of a hip hop star in crisis, Mogul Mowgli. Worldwide FM DJ Kate Hutchinson joins Robin and regulars Siân and Andrew to thrash it all out. Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Alex Rees. Bigmouth is a Podmasters production. See acast.com/pr...
2020-11-281h 04
BigmouthSteve McQueen’s Small Axe, Megan Thee Stallion, The Liberator on NetflixWhat’s in Steve McQueen’s miniseries exploration of Black Britain, Small Axe? Can our panel of senior b-boys plus one b-girl relate to hip hop raunchstress Megan Thee Stallion? World War II animated drama The Liberator on Netflix – is war hell or is it just drawn that way? Plus tales of DIY metal pyro mishaps and the pubs and doubling glazing adventures of our favourite footballers One-man bible of terrace style Anthony Teasdale and Michael Hann of The Guardian, the FT, The Spectator and QPR join Siân and Andrew to deconstruct pop culture’s body politic.
2020-11-211h 07
BigmouthHATE! Comic, Cabaret Voltaire and Paranormal – the Egyptian X-FilesIt’s a broad appeal edition this week as we look back at Peter Bagge’s HATE!, the infamously gross and hilarious ’90s comic book that stands as Generation X’s Great American Novel. How does it come across now in luxury box set form? Plus Cabaret Voltaire bring the electro paranoia back for the first time in 26 years. And why you should be watching horror nerve-twister Paranormal, Netflix’s first Egyptian series.Ian Harrison of Mojo magazine and arts TV producer John Mullen – veterans of Select mag both – join Siân and Andrew for pop culture judgment hour. ...
2020-11-1458 min
Podcast From The PastSIÂN PATTENDEN & BEN MOOR - Changes Wrought On Our HometownJoining Tom Jackson - recorded in the golden, faraway days before lockdown - to discuss the postcards from their pasts are writer & podcaster SIÂN PATTENDEN (Smash Hits, the Guardian, Agatha Bilke, Bigmouth podcast) and writer and performer BEN MOOR (Fist of Fun, A Supercollider for the Family, Undone, Coelacanth, Who Here’s Lost). We get ribbed about carpets, assess the joys of the suburbs, discover a million postcard artworks and confess to badgering Alan Bennett; the journey takes us from the shifting pebbles of Whitstable to a comfort break at the most talked about men's restroom in the world with...
2020-11-1345 min
BigmouthThe Queen’s Gambit, Kylie’s disco, Sophia Coppola’s On The RocksPAWN COCKTAIL: Is brilliant Netflix chess psychodrama The Queen’s Gambit the true apotheosis of the Bunty comic cruel orphanage story – or is it really a superhero tale? STUDIO 5’4”: Kylie Minogue returns to her (and our) happy place with new album Disco.OVERDUE BILL: Does Sophia Coppola/Bill Murray/Rashida Jones caper flick On The Rocks recreate the magic of Lost In Translation?Lucy O’Brien, author of She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music, and multi-purpose entertainment journalist Michael Moran join Andrew and Siân to sort it all out.
2020-10-311h 05
BigmouthTrial Of The Chicago 7, Gorillaz, saving Pepe the FrogIs Aaron Sorkin’s Trial Of The Chicago Seven a timely look at the corrupt roots of cop/state bad vibes or just more burnishing of the hippy myth? Gorillaz: the only valid model for 21st Century pop or a big ol’ ego trip for Damon Albarn? And a startling BBC documentary asks if Pepe the Frog can be saved from the clutches of the alt.right. Select mag veterans Adam Higginbotham and Clark Collis join their old colleagues Andrew and Siân to thrash it all out. Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew...
2020-10-241h 05
BigmouthNew Romantic with Dylan Jones, White Riot, Idles, Fleet FoxesWho will win this week’s pop culture smackdown? The troubled peacocks of our guest Dylan Jones’s new epic work Sweet Dreams: The Story Of The New Romantics? Contemporary agit-punk shoutmongers Idles? Their spiritual forebears The Clash and other Rock Against Racism alumni, immortalised in the documentary White Riot? Or Mr Autumn Man himself Robin Pecknold, currently hermitlike sole operator of Fleet Foxes? Culture writer Travis Elborough joins Dylan Jones, Siân and Andrew for another session of nozin’ around.Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Alex R...
2020-10-031h 04
BigmouthBrave New World, Working Men’s Club, Miss Juneteenth, Sylvan EssoSoma lovin’, had me a blast… Can NBC do justice to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, with Harry Lloyd and Jessica Brown Findlay free-lovin’ their way across futuristic New London? It starts on SKY next Friday. Can the debut album by Todmorden noiseniks Working Men’s Club superserve both the mature Fall/Cabaret Voltaire fan and today’s young ravers? Are US electro plinkers Sylvan Esso any good? And a really affecting movie about the beauty pageant battles of black mothers and daughters in Texas, Miss Juneteenth. Film writer Linda Marric and Joe Muggs, co-author of Bass, Mids...
2020-09-261h 02
BigmouthPublic Enemy, David Tennant in Des, Róisín Murphy, The DuchessHave Public Enemy really made a masterpiece with What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down, their first album for Def Jam in 22 years? A Pong From Under The Floorboards: David Tennant as Dennis Nilsen in Des. The discomatic return of Róisín Murphy with Róisín Machine. And is Katherine Ryan’s single mum comedy The Duchess just a bit too North London for its own good?Justin Quirk, author of Nothin' But a Good Time: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Glam Metal, and Craig McLean of The Times join Andrew and Siân to s...
2020-09-191h 05
BigmouthFlaming Lips, I’m Thinking Of Ending Things, Two Weeks To Live on SkyOn this week’s bloody assizes of pop culture… Does THE FLAMING LIPS’ new album American Head constitute the headstone of psychedelic culture or a state of the nation rallying cry to let your freak flag fly? Can Maisie ‘Game Of Thrones’ Williams cut it in revenge comedy TWO WEEKS TO LIVE, now on Sky? And what the hell is Charlie ‘Adaptation’ Kaufman’s I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS supposed to be about? Film critics Claire Biddles and Matt Glasby join Andrew and Siân to gaze in bafflement. Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden and Andrew...
2020-09-121h 03
BigmouthGuest NITIN SAWHNEY on Tenet, Disclosure, Nubya Garcia, BBC4’s Soul AmericaUltra-prolific gene-splicer of all musics Asian, Anglo and beyond Nitin Sawhney joins Will Hodgkinson of The Times plus Siân and Andrew for this week’s pop culture summit.WELCOME TO THE PALINDROME: Does Christopher Nolan’s mind-pretzeling Tenet make sense, and will it save Hollywood?MIND OVER PLATTER: New albums from leftfield jazz parper Nubya Garcia and house delinquents Disclosure. STAX AND VIOLENCE: Why BBC4’s new three-parter Soul America – covering the rise of black music through civil rights, civil disturbances and beyond – is an unmissable milestone. Produced and presented...
2020-08-291h 09
BigmouthDiane Morgan’s MANDY, Cut Copy, Yes God YesThis week on pop culture’s premier inquisition…
I’M MANDY, TRY ME: Does Diane Morgan’s new mini-series MANDY hit the highs of Philomena Cunk?
CHILL BY SOUTH: Melbourne electro gadabouts Cut Copy go ambient on new sixth album Freeze, Melt. Will it assuage our panel’s heatstroke?
DOING THE LORD'S JERK: It’s Catholic guilt vs teenage sexual “self-discovery” time in new comedy Yes God Yes. Will our panel experience holy ecstasy (followed by immediate shame)?
William Shaw – Smash Hits and Details veteran turned writer of splendid crime books – and Guardian podcasts queen Hannah Verdier...
2020-08-1555 min
BigmouthThe Real Thing doc on BBC4, Fontaines DC, Peanut Butter FalconThis week on the premier pop-probing podcast…
MERSEY, MERSEY ME: The Real Thing, the 4-piece Marvin Gaye of Liverpool 8, finally get their props on a new BBC4 documentary. What do we think?
DUBLIN UP: Fontaines DC are this year’s Great New Guitar Band. Will they excite our mature panel as much as they do the ragin’ teens?
GET IN THE RING: Leftfield dramady The Peanut Butter Falcon takes a Down’s Syndrome kid who dreams of being a wrestler on a Southern odyssey with Shia LaBoeuf. What’s the laughter:poignancy ratio here?
S...
2020-08-081h 06
BigmouthJarvis Cocker, 2000AD creator Pat Mills, Warrior Nun, Murdoch on BBCAttention, earthlets! 2000AD comic creator Pat Mills joins us to talk about the romance of violence and anarchy for teenage delinquents plus his new comic Spacewarp. Plus…
COCKER THE NORTH: Is Jarvis growing old gracefully with his new band Jarv Is… and its debut album Beyond The Pale?
BLOOD WIMPLE: Holy terror in Netflix’s Warrior Nun.
THE DIGGER YOU LOVE TO HATE: The Rise Of The Murdoch Dynasty on BBC2.
Bigmouth regular Michael Moran joins Andrew and Siân for another rock’n’roll roundtable of rock. And pop. And “miscellaneous”. Produced and presented by Siân Pattenden...
2020-07-251h 15
BigmouthI May Destroy You, Jehnny Beth, Da 5 BloodsIs BBC1’s all-encompassing comedy drama of race, class, cities and, yes, sexual assault I May Destroy You as good as everyone’s saying? A pulsating polysexual solo debut arrives from Jehnny Beth of Savages while another frontperson-without-portfolio, ex-Maccabee Orlando Weeks, delivers a much more subdued one about – ahem – fatherhood. Which one’s the best? And is Spike Lee’s “Black Vietnam” movie Da 5 Bloods worth your Netflix time? Assessing it all with Andrew and Siân are undisputed world Bowie expert and star of stage and screen Nicholas Pegg and film critic Linda Marric. Produced and present...
2020-06-201h 09
BigmouthTim Burgess, Snowpiercer on Netflix, cult movie Adam & PaulThis week on the lockdown get-down of pop culture: Does Tim Burgess’s new LP I Love The New Sky cement his position as Captain Cheer-up of the COVID calamity? Netflix turn Bong Joon-Ho’s dystopian weird-out Snowpiercer into a series. Is this a good idea? And in Old Film Club we settle down with Adam And Paul, a heartwarming tale of two Dublin pals who share a dream, a deep personal bond, and a crippling addiction to heroin. Popcorn at the ready!Pop fiend and illustrator of amazing children’s books Nadia Shireen and Michael Hogan...
2020-05-301h 05
BigmouthWhite Lines on Netflix, Charli XCX, Idles, Scorsese’s After HoursDoyen of US pop journalist David Keeps of Star Hits and Details magazines fame dials from faraway Phoenix, Arizona to join Mark “Arena/The Face” Hooper, Siân and Andrew for this week’s bloody assizes of entertainment. In the dock: Netflix’s uncommonly clever clubbin’n’druggin’-in-Ibiza series White Lines, Mark and David’s choices of great albums for the Great Shut-In, and we revisit Martin Scorsese’s yuppie terror odyssey of 1985, After Hours. Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison and Siân Pattenden. Audio production by Alex Rees. Bigmouth is a Podmasters production. Get every epi...
2020-05-231h 08
BigmouthBeastie Boys Story, Pretenders, VivariumDoes Beastie Boys Story, MCA and Ad-Rock’s hip hop TED talk, expand our knowledge of their journey from frat pack to woke MCs? The new Pretenders album Hate For Sale – they’ve put the release back but we’re talking about it anyway. And SURREAL ESTATE: will Kafkesque homeowning horror mystery Vivarium put you off househunting forever? Guests William Shaw and Claire Biddles join Andrew and Siân for another pop culture plenary. Remember you can watch this discussion in all its riveting detail if you sign up to back us on Patreon. Produced a...
2020-05-021h 05
BigmouthDevs, Why Don’t You Just Die?, Plone, Mike Judge’s Tales from the Tour BusWho’s Zoomin’ who? Guests Joe ‘Mixmag’ Muggs and Jim ‘Jockey Slut’ Butler join Andrew and Siân for our first-ever LIVE ZOOM recording. On the agenda: Alex Garland’s paranoid tech fantasy Devs, the spectacularly bloody Russian comedy thriller Why Don’t You Just Die?, and foul and funky behaviour in Beavis & Butthead genius Mike Judge’s Tales From The Tour Bus. Want to actually SEE all this? Sign up to Patreon for a full video recording (coming soon) so you can mock our interior decor choices. Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison and Siân Pat...
2020-04-251h 10
BigmouthLockdown hoedowns, Baxter Dury, Eel Pie Island docExcuse our sound quality… We’re all indoors for the foreseeable future, so you might as well enjoy the good stuff. In our first hygienic, remotely-recorded podcast guests Eamonn Forde (Guardian) and Martin Aston (MOJO) join Andrew and Siân to recommend what to watch, play and read in the self-isolation era. Plus Baxter Dury takes his urban dirty young man persona to “another level” and we assess next Friday’s BBC4 lock-in, the Eel Pie Island rock doc Rock’n’Roll Island. Do we learn anything new…?Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison and Siân Pattenden. Audio...
2020-03-211h 02
BigmouthReady Steady Go! on BBC4, Color Out Of Space, Nigel Godrich’s UltraístaTHE WEEKEND STARTS HERE (even though it’s Saturday). As BBC4 dedicates a evening to The Story of Ready Steady Go! we ask just what it was that made the bob-haired Cathy McGowan modfest the platonic ideal of youth TV? Plus alien gross-out horror in a new movie adaptation of HP Lovecraft’s Color Out Of Space and Radiohead’s sonic masseur Nigel Godrich returns with his micro-supergroup Ultraísta, Frugging on the podium with Siân and Andrew this week are journo-about-town Michael Moran and Ian Harrison, MOJO Magazine news editor and free-spirited Liam to elder bro...
2020-03-1450 min
BigmouthNoughts + Crosses on BBC1, Soccer Mommy, U.S. Girls, I Am Not Okay With ThisDON’T CALL ME BLANCA: Does BBC1’s adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s race-inversion counterfactual Noughts + Crosses work as drama as well as thought experiment? New albums from “queen of screwing up” Soccer Mommy and Toronto-based megapop torch singer U.S. Girls. And a lonely teen girl discovers her Hulk-like superpower is… incipient lesbianism? That’s I Am Not Okay With This on Netflix. Legendary presenter of THE WORD, 6Music DJ and “smellologist” Katie Puckrik and Michael Hann of The Guardian and the FT join Andrew and Siân to crack the top of this week’s crème brûlée of pop...
2020-03-071h 08
BigmouthParasite, Gil Scott-Heron, C90 indie rockHOME ALONE: Is Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-scarfing class-battle nerve-twister Parasite really as good as they say? POSTHUMOUS POETICS: There’s another version of Gil Scott-Heron’s final album I’m New Here out. Makaya McCraven jazzes it up into We’re New Again. What are the pros and cons of the collab beyond the grave?MEMOIRS OF SHOEGAZING GENTLEMEN (AND LADIES): What does the vast new compilation C90 tell us about the idyllic, bowlheaded world of pre-Oasis indie pop?Guardian TV and podcasts writer Hannah Verdier and Kate Hodges – bassist and author of Warriors Wi...
2020-02-1556 min
Bigmouth186: Uncut Gems, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Lab, Halsey, GeorgiaThis week, TV oracles Julia Raeside of The Guardian and Michael Hogan of the Telegraph join Andrew and Siân to read pop culture’s spiritual aura. Submitting to past-life analysis this week… BLING ME THE HORIZON: Can phoner-in of broad and basic comedy roles Adam Sandler rediscover his hidden talents as an actual thesp for avant garde diamond business thriller Uncut Gems? And is this the tensest moviegoing experience around right now?ELECTRIC YOUTH: Rave spawn Georgia’s incandescent album Seeking Thrills and US anxiety-pop heroine Halsey’s new one, Manic: what are they t...
2020-01-251h 09
Bigmouth185: Pet Shop Boys, Bowie graphic novel, Armando Iannucci’s Avenue 5Dance music guru Ralph Moore of Mixmag and well-dressed journo-about-town Justin Quirk join Andrew and Siân on the Pools Panel of pop culture. This week:BABYLON BERLIN: Recorded in the German capital, ‘Hotspot’ completes the Pet Shop Boys’ trilogy with superproducer Stuart Price. Are we in for sad bangers, what’s the laser quotient… and can you still rave in your seventh decade? (Spoiler: yes).CHEAP HOLIDAYS IN OTHER SPECIES’ MISERY: Armando Iannucci’s latest workplace satire is set on a space cruiseliner. Does Avenue 5 – starring Hugh Laurie and Rebecca Front and showing on Sky One...
2020-01-181h 07
BigmouthEnd of Decade Special feat Bowie, Fleabag, St Vincent, Janelle Monáe and moreBlackstar! Inside No.9! Arrival! St Vincent! Kill List! Robyn! Shame! Bicep! All these and more feature in our end-of-decade bloody assizes. As the Clanging Chimes of Doom bring us to the end not just of 2019 but the TwentyTeens™ themselves, what were our favourites of the decade that’s about to cash in its “chips”?Guests Jude Rogers of The Word and The Guardian and Eamonn Forde of The Final Days Of EMI fame join Andrew and Siân to sort it all out. As the late great Dame himself once sang, “Time will crawl/To the 21st century loo...
2019-12-211h 10
Bigmouth182: Best of 2019 feat. Booksmart, Chernobyl, Nick Cave, Lana Del Rey and more!Do we hear a middling mid-2000s rock track or is it time for the best, the best, the Best of 2019? Joining Andrew and Siân to reveal their favourite films, albums, tracks, and other things are musician, yogi and Mojo writer Sophie Harris, and King of the Music Writer’s bingo board and Craig Finn fan Michael Hann.Among the top dogs are Booksmart, the screwball teen comedy turning the genre on its head, the HBO series Chernobyl and Succession. Plus, the panel tries to avoid the waterworks - again...
2019-12-141h 12
Bigmouth180: Coldplay album, Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, Country Music and Brett Anderson's new memoirDevon is a place on Earth: West Country sons Coldplay release their new album Everyday Life - a concept album of two halves, Sunrise and Sunset. We discuss this disparate mix of stadium-bothering plus acoustic wibblings and why the hell Nietzsche is on the cover.I Beg Your Parton: Dolly Parton's new Netflix series Heartstrings brings to life eight of her songs and features Julianne Hough, Kathleen Turner and Dolly herself amongst many others. Is it at good as the tunes?The Big Tome: Suede singer Brett Anderson's first memoir Coal Black Mornings...
2019-11-301h 08
Bigmouth178: The Irishman, DJ Shadow, FKA Twigs, winter pop warmers EpisodeRevealed in the tea leaves of pop culture this week… LEST WE FUGGEDABOUDIT: Does Martin Scorsese’s elegiac epic The Irishman put the capstone on mob movies forever? And who’s best in it: Bobby de Niro, little Joey Pesci, Al ‘The Animal’ Pacino or Stephen ‘The Scousefather’ Graham?ME AND MY SHADOW: Trip hop originator DJ Shadow rails against the digitally-saturated present on ‘Our Pathetic Age’. Modern hip hop masterpiece or old man shouting at iCloud?THE SPECIAL FKA: The fragile, suspended, subliminal soul-poptronica of FKA Twigs – what’s her album ‘Magdalene’ saying about life as a woman...
2019-11-161h 09
Bigmouth177: His Dark Materials, Michael Kiwanunka, Doctor Sleep, Apple TV+Spelling themselves out on the ouija board of pop culture this week… DÆMON DAYS: Does the prestige BBC/HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials do justice to one of the greatest and most philosophically challenging books in the young adult pantheon? Or what?MUSWELL HILL COMMUNICATION: We finally got that Michael Kiwanuka album. Does it deliver on the modern epic soul front?REDRUM HE WROTE: That sequel to The Shining that nobody ordered is here. Does all plot and no mystery make Doctor Sleep a dull sequel...
2019-11-091h 10
BigmouthTerminator Dark Fate, Kanye’s Jesus album, Eddie Murphy as DolemiteTumbling out of the pop culture piñata this week:THE BECH-DEATH TEST: Does the all-new all-female Terminator Dark Fate bring the much-rebooted “killer robots from the future” saga back online? Or is the story trapped in a repetitive subroutine?HOLY JESUS CHRIST ALMIGHTY: Kanye West has got God, but what will God think about that? And will Mr West’s holy-rolling gospel-powered album Jesus Is King save the souls of our heathen panel?BLACK COMEDY: Eddie Murphy’s magnificent starring turn as filthy cult comedian Rudy Ray Moore (the Benny Hil...
2019-11-021h 05
Bigmouth175: Watchmen, Dusty Springfield, Giri/Haji, Dukes Of Stratosphear, The LaundromatBubbling out of the pop culture percolator this week… NO SQUID PRO QUO: Has Damon “Lost” Lindelof done justice to Watchmen – the Citizen Kane of wearing your underpants outside your trousers – with his “remix” of the concept for HBO/Sky? And do we have any idea of what the hell is going on?KEEP IT DUSTY: What guest Lucy O’Brien discovered as she updated her definitive biography of Dusty Springfield. STRIFE IN TOKYO: New high-end crime drama Giri/Haji on BBC2 – there’s a dead yakuza in London and detective Kelly Macdon...
2019-10-261h 08
Bigmouth174: Joker, Suzi Quatro movie, Motörhead, Succession finale spoileramaInside the tumble dryer of pop culture this week… REPENT, HARLEQUIN! Is there more to Joaquin Phoenix’s turn in the hit Joker origin movie than half Taxi Driver and half King of Comedy? The movie has divided critics – will it divide our panel?FIRE UP THE QUATRO: Does the biopic of original beleathered rock vixen Suzi Quatro convey the supercharged excitement of her doing Can The Can? And do we actually need biopics of every single pop star?NO MORE KILMISTER NICE GUY: A major reissue programme for rock’s most hor...
2019-10-191h 13
Bigmouth173: Nick Cave, Michael Hutchence movie, Elbow, The PoliticianOn this week’s pop culture perusal fest… THE GREAT BARRIER, GRIEF: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ extraordinary new album Ghosteen leaves our panel floored and yet somehow elated. How did he turn unimaginable personal pain into something so beautiful?THE ROAD OF XS: Many saw Michael Hutchence as just a likeable accumulation of rock star clichés – but was there more to him and to his personal tragedy? And can new biopic Mystify open up the story?I WAS A TEENAGE TRUMP: Does the camp-meets-social-comment extravaganza The Politician – first fruit of Rya...
2019-10-121h 07
Bigmouth171: OMD SPECIAL: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark on the life electronicIt’s a special Bigmouth this week as we’re joined by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys AKA Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark as they mark their 40th anniversary with their ‘Souvenir’ box set – half greatest hits, half Pharaonic treasure trove of all the things they’ve made (including the really weird stuff).ARCHITECTURE AND MORALITY AND SIÂN AND ANDREW: Dive in for a fascinating conversation that takes in the ups and downs of an “accidental” pop career, how Kraftwerk changed their lives, how Paul’s mum nearly derailed OMD entirely, the love/hate relationship between Liverpool a...
2019-10-051h 04
Bigmouth164: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Ride, best movies of 2019 so farThis week on the pop culture podcast for free-range procrastinators – LIVE FROM ST. QUENTIN: Does Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood get away with “doing” the Manson Murders? Can our panel discuss it without ruining the ending? And is it the most divisive movie we’ve yet discussed? YOUR FEEDBACK IS IMPORTANT TO US: Sultans of shoegaze Ride are back, older and wiser. How is their sonic cathedral restoration project looking? HALF WAY FULL HOUSE: With 2019 just over half-done, film critic Anna Smith of the Girls On Film podcast chooses her five favourite movies of the year...
2019-08-101h 04
Bigmouth161: Midsommar, albums for summer, Steven Bannon doc The BrinkThis week, ANIMIST NITRATE: Is pagan psycho-fest Midsommar a mere update of The Wicker Man or does it bring something new to the horror chopping block?HEATWAVE RAVES: Our guests David Stubbs and Linda Marric help Siân and Andrew choose a soundtrack for Summer 2019.IT’LL BE ALT.RIGHT ON THE NIGHT: Can our panel bear to spend 90 minutes in the company of far-right barfbag Steve Bannon in the damning fly-on-the-wall documentary The Brink? Plus the usual recommendations, denunciations and prevarications. And we’ve put as many tunes from this s...
2019-07-131h 10
Bigmouth148: Being Frank Sidebottom movie, Andy Gill of Gang Of Four, Chemical Brothers, Billie EilishOn this week’s podcast… Special guest Andy Gill of THE GANG OF FOUR on new album ‘Happy Now?’, the return of angular rock for crisis Britain, and his secret past with Adam ‘The Power Of Nightmares’ Curtis. Plus Andy joins David Stubbs, Siân Pattenden and Andrew Harrison to debate the Brexit-blocking beats of the new CHEMICAL BROTHERS album, the surprising pathos of BEING FRANK: THE CHRIS SIEVEY STORY and whether BILLIE EILISH is appropriate for impressionable older listeners. As ever, your leisure is our pleasure. Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison and Siân Pattenden. Studio productio...
2019-04-061h 04
Bigmouth145: Edwyn Collins, New York voguing drama, the internet’s dark side and moreOn our latest pop culture patterfest, Q Magazine editor TED KESSLER and comedy writer DAN MAIER of Harry Hill fame join Siân and Andrew to sift through the week’s most interesting stuff.The great EDWYN COLLINS confronts age and mortality through the medium of sounding as much like Iggy Pop as possible on new album ‘Badbea’. Is ‘Feud’ and ‘Glee’ producer Ryan Murphy’s dramatisation of the New York drag ball scene POSE worth your eyeball time? Ted gives us a bumper crate of new release recommendations. And we stare into the abyss inhabited by freelance interne...
2019-03-231h 00
The Trap DoorThe Trap Door - Sian PattendenSophie talks to writer, artist and stiletto-wearing buggy-wielder Sian Pattenden.
Sian started writing for Smash Hits when she was 18 and has been interviewing pop stars ever since - for The Face, The Guardian, Select and NME. She also writes and illustrates children's books. The latest series, The Peppers and the International Magic Guys, was selected for inclusion in the Richard and Judy Book Club 2013.
Sian co-presents the weekly pop culture podcast Bigmouth.
2019-03-2056 min
Bigmouth137: Podcast #137: Fyre Festival, junk shop glam, Specials, The Beat and more“It’s not fraud, it’s just false advertising!” Special guests and major influencers ALEXIS PETRIDIS of The Guardian and LUCY O’BRIEN, author of ‘Madonna: Like An Icon’, join regulars Siân and Andrew on a microlite to misery as we gaze in disbelief at not one but BOTH Fyre Festival documentaries. What were the best bits, what did we learn about “millennials” and is there enough Evian in the world to douse this Bonfire Of The Inanities? Hey, dig our on-brand orange tile… PLUS It’s la recherche de Fred Perrys perdu with new albums from The Specials – their...
2019-01-261h 02
Bigmouth136: Podcast #136: Stan & Ollie, Trevor Horn’s 80s album, Steve Mason and moreHave Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly brought back the real Laurel & Hardy, and how many hankies should you take to ‘Stan & Ollie’? Why is Trevor Horn reinventing the 80s if they weren’t broken in the first place? And former Beta Band man Steve Mason says his fourth album ‘About The Light’ is his first proper record – is he right? Seasoned journos Ian Harrison of Mojo magazine and Michael Hogan of the Guardian and Telegraph join Siân and Andrew to push the piano of pop culture up the metaphorical staircase of criticism. Will it come clattering down...
2019-01-1954 min
Bigmouth133: Podcast #133: Best of 2018 inc The 1975, BlacKKKlansman and A Very English ScandalThe 1975! The Lemon Twigs! Anna Calvi! That fantastic Jeremy Thorpe dramatisation from the BBC! And some films, telly and music you might not have heard of too! It’s the first of our ‘Favourites of 2018’ shows.MICHAEL HANN of The Guardian and FT and ANDREW MUELLER (once Melody Maker, now Monocle and you can’t say that about everyone) join Andrew and Siân to choose the best of the year. Plus: how do you persuade uptight business-y mags like The Economist and The Spectator to run stories on Cold War Steve and Lawrence from Denim/Go-Kart Mozart?
2018-12-151h 01
Bigmouth131: Podcast #131: Vic & Bob's Big Night Out, This Mortal Coil Reissues & The Kominsky Method on NetflixThey wouldn't let it lie. Spam! Pants! Soil! Is the all-new Vic n Bob's Big Night Out all we've been expecting from a big night in? The Kominsky Method on Netflix stars Mr Catherine Zeta Jones, Michael Douglas, as ageing acting coach Sandy Kominsky - we ponder this dark, comedic "later life" series. Plus with new reissues of the three This Mortal Coil albums on 4AD, we listen to Ivo Watts-Russell's ethereal studio collective and debate whether it still packs a punch 27+ years on.And goodbye Nic Roeg, director of Performance, Man Who Fe...
2018-12-0156 min
Bigmouth130: Podcast #130: The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Suede & The Ballad of Buster Scruggs on NetflixDim the lights! It's the pop culture podcast for the louche lounge dweller. Does the Coen Brother's anthology The Ballad of Buster Scruggs cast a new light on the narrative of the Wild West and the lonesome cowboy? And did anyone recognise Tom Waits? We talk about the Suede documentary The Insatiable Ones - chasing the dragon or gettin' off that thar horse? And yes, it's Brett vs Damon week as we muse upon The Good, The Bad and the Queen, Damon Albarn's supergroup with new Brexit Britain album Merrie England.Ian Gittins from the Guardian, Melody...
2018-11-241h 00
Bigmouth129: Podcast #129: Kate Bush, Stan Lee, Happy Mondays, Outlaw King on NetflixThis week on the pop culture podcast for the sophisticated procrastinator: The KATE BUSH reissues are out. How do her leotard years stand up at nearly 40 years’ remove? We mark the ascension of Marvel mastermind Smilin’ STAN LEE to the Astral Plane with guest Dorian Lynskey from the Remainiacs podcast. HAPPY MONDAYS’ infamous second album ‘Bummed’ is 30 years old. And is Netflix’s blood-sodden Robert the Bruce drama OUTLAW KING fit for purpose as the new Braveheart?Writer and rock’n’roll muso KATE HODGES joins Andrew and Siân to sort it all out. Support BIGMOUTH a...
2018-11-171h 05
Bigmouth128: Podcast #128: Netflix’s Cash/Nixon and Bob Marley, C4’s The First, Carlos EzquerraIs Netflix’s new rockumentary series Remastered up to BBC4 music doc standard? We look for things we don’t know in their episodes on JOHNNY CASH’s relationship with Richard Nixon and the attempted murder of BOB MARLEY. The producers of House Of Cards stage a realistic Mars shot in THE FIRST – but is the myth-making too earnest? And Andrew gets all excited about a lost gem of comic books from the late 2000AD artist CARLOS EZQUERRA, a spaghetti western for kids called El Mestizo.Special guests JUDE ROGERS of The Guardian and New Statesman and JAMES ME...
2018-11-1057 min
Bigmouth127: Podcast #127: The Prodigy, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Berlin StationTHE PRODIGY: the electronic AC/DC who don’t ever need to change because they got it right 25 years ago, or relics of rave? Is THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA a fitting reboot to the 90s Saturday morning cult witchfest… is it a bit gother-than-thou… and does it still have a talking cat? And does C4’s euro-spy effort BERLIN STATION have das richtige Zeug for modern espionage drama?Special guests ANTHONY TEASDALE of Umbrella magazine and former editor of The Face RICHARD BENSON join Siân and Andrew to sift this week’s pop culture popcorn. Support B...
2018-11-031h 03
DAVIDBOWIE: ALBUMTOALBUMSiân Pattenden on LowLow! The 1976 masterpiece which saw our man frazzled and burned-out, on the cusp of mayhem, relocated from the madness of Los Angeles and teaming up with Brian Eno for a lot of experimental doodling and dallying and along the way, coming up with one of the most revolutionary albums in rawk history. The opening salvo of the 'Berlin Trilogy', Low is a beautiful racket of proto-electronica, effects and ambient soundscapes, that gave Bowie a new lease of life, electronic music to the mainstream and no doubt, ulcers to the good folk at Bowie's long suffering record label RCA.
2018-11-0251 min
Bigmouth125: Podcast #125: Cold War Steve, Neneh Cherry, St Vincent, Apostle on NetflixTwitter photomontage artist Cold War Steve: just another Banksy or the Fly-Tip Warhol of Brexit Britain? Neneh Cherry returns with the proper grown-up pop of ‘Broken Politics’ and St Vincent redoes her last album for solo piano as ‘Masseducation’ – does it work? And can our panel stomach the splattery historical horror of ‘Apostle’, the new Netflix movie from Gareth “The Raid” Evans.Britain’s best beer writer Pete Brown joins Andrew and Siân for an hour of quality pop culture wittering.Support BIGMOUTH and get a little extra from the podcast every week – buy us a pint via the crowdfu...
2018-10-2059 min
Bigmouth124: Podcast #124: Doctor Who, John Grant, Primal Scream in Memphis‘DOCTOR WHO’ returns with its biggest series debut in a decade, but what are the pundits missing about this new incarnation of the sci-fi institution? Will JOHN GRANT’s arch, observational electropop – showcased on new album ‘Love Is Magic’ – hit the spot with our panel? And we load up on collard greens and grits to explore PRIMAL SCREAM’s post-‘Screamadelica’ journey into fatback gumbo chicken-scratch soul as their lost Memphis tapes reappear after 20 years. Guests HANNAH VERDIER of The Guardian and MICHAEL HANN of the FT, The Spectator and er The Guardian join Andrew and Siân to pick through the ch...
2018-10-131h 05
Bigmouth122: Podcast #122: Killing Eve, Chic, Maniac and more with guest Paul MorleyOn this week’s pop culture palaver-fest, ex-NME and ZTT mouth-on-a-stick PAUL MORLEY joins Siân and Bigmouth regular Michael Moran to ponder the week’s key broadcasts and releases. Is serial killer drama Killing Eve – written by Phoebe “Fleabag” Waller-Bridge – the electrifying experience everyone says it is? How about Netflix psychonautical caper Maniac? Is the new Chic album any good? And which show does Michael think is “like watching a cultural reference mood board”? All this and more on the show they’re all calling “Late Review except it’s still going and it’s a podcast not a TV show.” BIG...
2018-09-291h 15
Bigmouth121: Podcast #121: Christine & The Queens, Madonna, Suede and moreIt’s Gender Non-Conformist Week on the smart pop culture podcast as guests Miranda Sawyer and author and pop journo Lucy O’Brien discuss CHRIS (the artist formerly known as Christine & The Queens), the magnificent return of pop polymorphs SUEDE, Lucy’s MADONNA biography ‘Like An Icon’ and loads more. Listen in as Siân cheers them on and Andrew has his appalling retrograde cis-male attitudes shaken to their very core.Support BIGMOUTH and get a little extra from the podcast every week – buy us a pint via the crowdfunding platform Patreon.Produced and presented by Andrew Har...
2018-09-221h 03
Bigmouth120: Podcast #120: Special guests ORBITAL on their life in rave and new album MONSTERS EXISTHands in the air and lasers akimbo: ORBITAL brothers Paul and Philip Hartnoll materialise in the Bigmouth bunker to talk about new album ‘Monsters Exist’ and their 30 years at the forefront of raving.What’s it like working with Prof Stephen Hawking and Dr Brian Cox? How did the self-confessed “Mitchell Brothers of techno” bury the hatchet and start working together again? What are their favourite current tunes and classic electronic records? And what telly and box sets are they hammering? Andrew and Siân don the torch-glasses of destiny to find out. Support BIGMOUTH and get a li...
2018-09-151h 05
Bigmouth119: Podcast #119: Idris Elba’s Yardie, Jungle, Bodyguard on BBC1On this week’s show, RUDE BOY CINEMA: does Idris Elba’s Yardie capture the truth about Jamaican gangsters without romanticising it? LAVENDER ON THE MOVE: we try and fail to discuss the Keeley Hawes/Robb Stark from GoT political potboiler BODYGUARD without spoilers. Should close protection officer David Budd stop clenching his jaw and enjoy his job a bit more? And the not-at-all difficult second album from West London slow-groovers JUNGLE.Our guests this week: MATT ALLEN of Q, Mojo and sports book fame, and JUSTIN QUIRK of Supplement magazine and a whole load of other stuf...
2018-09-0856 min
Bigmouth118: Podcast #118: Soft Cell box set, Spike Lee’s BlacKKKlansman, Succession on SkyLURING DISCO DOLLIES TO A LIFE OF VICE: This week we delve into Soft Cell’s enormous retrospective box set ‘Keychains And Snowstorms’ in the company of Times and GQ writer SIMON MILLS (who has some VERY interesting revelations about Marc’n’Dave from the good old days) and doyenne of the TV reviews JULIA RAESIDE of The Guardian.Plus: Is Spike Lee’s BlacKKKlansman really the most important movie of the year? And why you really ought to be watching the Murdoch dynasty series-a-clef Succession on Sky Atlantic. Saying hello and waving goodbye, your hosts Andrew Harrison and...
2018-09-011h 03
Bigmouth116: Podcast #116: The Meg, Boards Of Canada, REM and moreSHARK LIFE! Who will be the only one of our panel who didn’t like this summer’s prime Statham-vs-Fish chompbuster The Meg? How does Boards Of Canada’s ‘Music Has The Right To Children’ sound 20 years down the line? And what will be our guest JUDE ROGERS’ choice for the album only she in the whole wide world likes? (Clue above). Andrew and Siân are on hand with the chum bucket and the mop. Support BIGMOUTH – buy us a pint via the crowdfunding platform Patreon.Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison and Siân Pattenden. Studi...
2018-08-181h 00
Bigmouth115: Podcast #115: Nuts In May, Jake Shears, Ant-Man & The WaspGO WILD IN THE COUNTRY: Is Mike Leigh’s great rural comedy Nuts In May (now back on iPlayer) still in a field of its own? Has former Scissor Sister Jake Shears rediscovered his mucky mojo on his solo debut? And does Marvel’s shrinky-dink super-sequel Ant-Man And The Wasp have a sting in its tail – or will it simply show that little things please little minds?Guests NEIL DENNY of literary podcast and magazine Little Atoms and rock journo ROY WILKINSON of British Sea Power fame join Andrew and Siân to discuss these weighty matters.Su...
2018-08-1154 min
Bigmouth113: Podcast #113: The secret history of electronic music, Roy Carr’s brilliant NME tapes and moreAs the studio melts and Siân and Andrew wilt in the heat, Melody Maker veteran DAVID STUBBS joins us to talk about his new book ‘Mars By 1980: The History Of Electronic Music’. Fellow bleeps’n’clonks devotee JOE MUGGS of Mixmag weighs in on the stuff you didn’t know about the avant garde sound that now owns the world. And yes that’s Karlheinz Stockhausen in the pic. PLUS: We look back at the amazing NME cassettes that changed a generation’s way of listening, and the NME journo Roy Carr who compiled them. And David and Joe ma...
2018-07-281h 08
Bigmouth112: Podcast #112: Who Is America? Picnic At Hanging Rock, Lotic, summer tunesWe’re back from our hols with guests DAVID BENNUN, veteran of Melody Maker and Loaded, and the David Attenborough of football casual culture ANTHONY TEASDALE joining Andrew and Siân for more high-end pop culture natter.This week: Sacha Baron-Cohen’s Who Is America? brings his old-school gotcha comedy back – but does it work in a post-satire world? Can the miniseries remake of Picnic At Hanging Rock currently running on BBC2 match the deep strangeness of the original? Meet queertronica artiste Lotic, voted “most likely to collaborate with Björk”. And more summer selections from our guests and...
2018-07-211h 09
Bigmouth110: Podcast #110: ANNE DUDLEY of Art Of Noise in the studio plus Millie Jackson, summer tunes and moreOh to be in England… This week the legend that is ANNE DUDLEY, string arranger to ABC, Malcolm McLaren, Pet Shop Boys and the pop elite, joins us in the Bigmouth Bunker. Listen up as Anne discusses her Life In Pop™, how she helped create Careless Whisper and Getting Away With It, and her new album ‘Anne Dudley Plays The Art Of Noise’… on piano? Hold tight for an exclusive live rendition of Moments In Love on the hopelessly out-of-tune studio joanna. PLUS Mojo and Guardian journo SOPHIE HARRIS joins Anne, Siân and Anne to discuss ‘Millie Jackson...
2018-06-301h 06
Bigmouth109: Podcast #109: Lost Vagueness Glastonbury movie, Public Enemy, The The film and moreOn the probing pop culture podcast this week… Did post-crusty cabaret field LOST VAGUENESS really save Glastonbury’s vegan bacon? And why did it fall apart? A new documentary explains. Plus PUBLIC ENEMY’s Nation Of Millions is 30 years old, and a new documentary delves into the complex psyche of Matt Johnson of THE THE. Guests Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian and Steve Yates help Andrew and Siân sort it all out. Support BIGMOUTH – buy us a pint via the crowdfunding platform Patreon.Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison and Siân Pattenden. Studio production by...
2018-06-231h 04
Bigmouth107: Podcast #107: Studio 54 documentary, Kanye West, Lily Allen and more…This week on the plugged-on pop culture podcast… DISCO VERITÉ: Why you really need to see this brilliant Studio 54 documentary, out on June 15. EGO FREAKO: Will we ever decide we’ve had enough of Kanye West? LIL COMMUNICATION: Has Lily Allen turned her middle-youth meltdown into quality adult pop? Plus guests Hannah Verdier (Guardian) and Michael Hogan (Times) join Siân and Andrew in ’fessing up to the things they wish they liked but just can’t, no matter how hard they try…Support BIGMOUTH – buy us a birthday pint via the crowdfunding platform Patreon.Produced and p...
2018-06-091h 02
Bigmouth103: Podcast #103: Kraftwerk’s Man-Machine is 40, Beach House, DJ Koze, Jon Hopkins, The RainWhere would the future be without ‘The Man-Machine’ by Kraftwerk, which turns 40 this week, eh? What’s the sound of the summer: Beach House’s woozy, heat-hazy ‘7’, DJ Koze’s wayward disco or the Sky At Night sounds of Jon Hopkins? Special guests MICHAEL HANN of The Guardian and freelance heavy metal evangelist JUSTIN QUIRK are on hand to help Siân and Andrew sort it all out… Support BIGMOUTH – buy us a birthday pint via the crowdfunding platform Patreon. Produced and presented by Andrew Harrison with Siân Pattenden. Studio production by Jack Claramunt. Bigmouth is a Podmaster...
2018-05-121h 05
Bigmouth102: Podcast #102: Infinity War with spoilers, Janelle Monae, HBO’s Barry, Too Slow To Disco BrasilIt’s the greatest multi-character crossover in history! In a special extra-length edition packed with scarcely believable action, we assemble guests STRICTLY KEV AKA DJ FOOD of Ninja Tune fame, MARK HOOPER – editor of Hole & Corner magazine – plus a special cameo role from IAN DUNT of our sister podcast Remainiacs. Who are all these characters and what do they want?On the agenda: what did Infinity War mean and how are the Avengers going to get out of that? (WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS so we’re doing that bit at the end.) Plus we have a poke around inside Jan...
2018-05-051h 09
Bigmouth100: Podcast #100! Simon Day, Charley’s War, Juliana Hatfield, Chas & Dave, Andrew Collins and more…For our gala ONE HUNDREDTH podcast, special guests SIMON DAY of The Fast Show and ANDREW COLLINS (who was on the very first Bigmouth back when it was in black and white) join us for the finest in high-end pop chatter.This week: Untold pop tales in Sky’s Urban Myths. Legendary WWI story Charley’s War returns in a lavish new edition. Is it still the greatest British comic book of all time? Is Chas & Dave’s first proper album in 30 years any good, and what about Juliana Hatfield’s LP of Olivia Newton-John covers? Andrew Harrison...
2018-04-211h 02
Stream Complete Digital Audiobooks for Your LibrarySian Pattenden presents The Magical Peppers and the Island of InventionPlease visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/319823 to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Magical Peppers and the Island of Invention
Author: Sian Pattenden
Narrator: Penny McDonald
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 2 hours 43 minutes
Release date: July 5, 2012
Genres: Fairy Tales & Folklore
Publisher's Summary: A strange old theatre at the end of the pier is the setting for the next fantastic adventure full of magic and mayhem with unbeatable double act, Esme & Monty Pepper, and their madcap Uncle Potty… The Pepper twins, Esmé and Monty and their uncle Potty have been summoned to the Sea Spray The...
2012-07-062h 43