It's difficult to imagine now but back in the early sixties, soul was  'underground' music in the UK - rarely played on the radio, and only appreciated by a small number of aficionados. 

Within a few years, records by artists on the Tamla Motown label would sell in their millions but in the very early 60s, very few people had heard of it.

Among a small cult of fans was a Liverpool teenager Frank Collins who went on to form a blue-eyed soul band The Excels who later played at the Cavern Club, not singing rock n roll or Merseybeat, but soul music with intricate harmonies.

Frank's 60-year career would take him onto the singles chart with the band Arrival then the British soul/funk pioneers Kokomo and later working with Bob Dylan, Bryan Ferry, Tom Robinson and many more.

He's still writing and performing regularly today.

We're delighted to have Frank as our special guest on this month's Misadventures in Music with Ian Prowse and Mick Ord

'Bill Harry's Sixties Snapshots - on Arrival/Kokomo' -  https://sixtiescity.net/Mbeat/mbfilms191.htm

BBC Four soul documentary- 'When Motown Came to Britain'.

Urbanista Music Podcasts

Playlist :

Money  - Barrett Strong

Be My Baby - The Ronettes

Friends - Arrival

I Will Survive - Arrival

A Little Bit Further Away - Kokomo

Romance in Durango -Bob Dylan

Swansong - Kokomo

In 1969 they sold more records in America than any other band including the Beatles and the Stones but within a few years Creedence Clearwater Revival had split up with a bitterness rarely matched, even in the topsy-turvy world of rock music.

Fast forward 50 years, and former leader and main songwriter John Fogarty is back on tour, including the UK and Ireland, so now seems as good a time as any to look back on his former group's unique musical legacy and discover what made them one of the biggest bands in the world....and what destroyed them.

In 1993 Bruce Springsteen said that CCR  were "not the hippest band in the world, but the best".

Writer John Lingan has written a critically-acclaimed biography of the band - 'A Song for Everyone - the Story of Creedence Clearwater Revival.' It's an engrossing tale.

John's our special guest in this month's episode of Misadventures in Music,  with Ian Prowse and Mick Ord."

Our guest in the new Misadventures in Music podcast with Ian Prowse and Mick Ord is the writer Jeff Young, whose critically-acclaimed 'Wild Twin' has been nominated for the TLS Ackerley Award for the best biography of 2025.

Set in Liverpool and Amsterdam in the late 70's and early 80's, the book centres on Jeff's wild experiences as a would-be bohemian writer - a sort of 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Scally'.His adventures as "a down and nearly out in Amsterdam" are infused with wit, squalor and some fantastic portraits of his friends and housemates as they attempt to scrape a living by fair means and foul - not necessarily in that order.

The music of that period was, and remains, a huge inspiration to Jeff - so much so that a friend compiled a playlist of music referenced in the book, and it’s over twelve hours long!

Enjoy the ride.

You can listen to the music discussed in this podcast here:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6eHTvfZB8vDCaTHB45SB22?si=WfxQRoK7QP2O5sB9piKq5Q

In the new season of Misadventures in Music' (episode 13) Ian Prowse and Mick Ord take a deep dive into the UK's Post-Punk music scene (1978-1982) with New Jersey-based writer and filmmaker Russell Craig Richardson who has been working on a documentary film about the genre, having lived among many of the musicians in the UK at the time.

He talks about some of the leading characters, including those he interviewed such as Jah Wobble from Public Image Ltd. and Paul and Steve Hanley from The Fall.

Russell's a great storyteller and his musical choice contains more than a few surprises as well as post-punk classics.

Watch the trailer for the documentary on the website here

There aren't many writers around who can look back on their career and say they've interviewed as many top musicians as Paul du Noyer.

The Liverpool-born author and music journalist boasts as impressive a list as anyone from the past 40 + years - Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Amy Winehouse and Dusty Springfield to name just a few.

He's also written definitive books about the music culture of his home city as well as that of London, a place where he's spent much time writing and editing iconic magazines such as NME, Q and MOJO.

Paul du Noyer is Ian Prowse and Mick Ord's wonderful guest in this episode of Misadventures in Music which was recorded by our friends at The Podcafe in Liverpool.

Our guest on the Misadventures in Music podcast is the acclaimed music writer, broadcaster and self-styled ROCK N ROLL WITCH Zoe Howe.

She's written or co-written biographies of some of the most influential musicians of the 70's and 80's - Wilko Jonson, The Slits, Poly Styrene, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Stevie Nicks.

Zoe tells some wonderful tales about working with such luminaries, and her fascinating study of the Sons and Daughters of Rock Royalty - including Plant, Lennon, McCartney, Zappa, and Jagger. As if that isn't enough, she also talks about her life as a bona fide witch.

Misadventures in Music with Ian Prowse and Mick Ord - subscribe now!

Zoe's website - https://zoejhowe.wixsite.com/

Zoe's Playlist  -Falco - Rock Me Amadeus- The Who - Let’s See Action- Pride (In The Name Of Love)  - U2- Heard It Through The Grapevine - Slits- Cracking Up - Jesus and Mary Chain- Brother Doctor, Sister Nurse - Mickey Jupp- Number 9 Dream - John Lennon

Listen on Spotify:

Looking back, the early seventies can seem like a strange time musically in the UK and perhaps nowhere more so than Merseyside. 

The NEXT BIG THING that we were all waiting for following the break-up of The Beatles hadn't emerged and a wide range of musical styles proliferated in the local pub and club scene.For a few years before 1977, Supercharge and Deaf School were leading the pack of bands tipped for bigger things.

The former, led by the charismatic saxophonist Albie Donnelly played to packed audiences everywhere - their blues/rock/funk fusion going down well with club and college audiences.

Signed by Virgin Records they had hit albums and singles in Australia and famously supported Queen at Hyde Park in front of an estimated 150-200,00 people.  The band's on-stage humour and antics were also a huge hit with audiences as anyone who saw them live will testify.

Albie Donnelly's Supercharge is still going great guns in Germany and Holland and the 77 year old scouser has lost none of his passion for music or his wit, as Ian Prowse and Mick Ord discovered when they met up with him in the Liverpool Podcafe for the latest , unforgettable Misadventures in Music.

Episode 10 of Misadventures in Music was recorded at SVARA Radio based in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle.

The boys are joined by David Fishel who is musician from Liverpool and has produced the JazzScene radio show broadcasting in several countries between 1992 - 2002. 

David Fishel has worked with Malcolm McLaren, Patti Boulaye, Steve Levine and 'discovered' Anabella from Bow Wow Wow. 

He spent 21 years in Norway as a producer/presenter for NRK, Norwegian national radio where he interviewed some of his jazz heroes. David's love for music started when he was introduced to Liverpool R & B band, Derry Wilkie and the Pressmen, who played in Hamburg before the Beatles in 1960. 

To say that he knows how to tell a story is the understatement of the year. He's now in the middle of writing his autobiography - he's given Misadventures in Music a sneak preview. 

You have been warned! - podcast contains swearing and sexual references

• Derry Wilkie and the Pressmen - Hallelujah I Love Her So
• Charlie Parker - They Can't Take That Away from Me
• Bow Wow Wow - Go Wild in the Country
• Brecker Bros - Skunk Funk

Many political and military observers are calling the current war in Ukraine  the most serious conflict that Europe has faced since World War Two, without for one moment demeaning the impact of other conflicts such as the wars in the former state of Yugoslavia 30 years ago.

In episode 8 of Misadventures in Music Ian Prowse and Mick Ord discuss how different songwriters have viewed some of the other conflicts that have plagued the world over the years, from the Spanish Civil War in the Thirties, through to Vietnam and the Falklands War, taking in a range of differing perspectives such as Nina  Simone, Bruce Springsteen and Christy Moore.

Episode Notes

.https://www.countryjoe.com/war.htm

When 18 year old Mark Watson met the American jazz musician and poet Gil Scott-Heron after a gig in Liverpool in 1984 little did he realise that the star was going to play such an important role in his life.

Mark had just been released from 9 years in the care system and could barely read or write. Nevertheless he WAS streetwise and blagged his way into the backstage area of the Royal Court theatre in the hope of shaking Gil's hand and praising him for his performance.

Something about Mark's character affected Gil and he invited him to become a roadie with the band and over the years their relationship blossomed and Gil became his friend and mentor.

Fast forward to 2022 and Malik al Nasir ( Mark changed his name when converting to Islam 30 years ago) is doing a PhD at Cambridge University and has just released a book - Letters to Gil - describing the impact Gil had on his life and telling HIS story about how the musician saved him where the care system in the UK had failed.

Malik is this month's guest in the Misadventures in Music podcast with Ian Prowse and Mick Ord - both huge Gil fans.

It's a genuinely astounding story about generosity of spirit and the power of music."

Track Listing

1. "Cane" from the album "Secrets" based on a novel called "Cane" by Gene Toomer about post slavery segregation in the rural south where he grew up. It aligns with my fathers experience in the cane fields of Demerara in Guyana. The song is adapted from the characters in the book and poems about them. "Karintha" and "Becky".
2. "Washington DC" from the album "Moving Target" This was the song that first introduced me to Gils work and caused me to go to that fateful meeting at the Royal Court Theatre in 1984 which forever altered the course of my life.
3. "On from a broken home" from the last album "I'm New Here". I was with Gil when he wrote this poem in 1988 whilst we were on tour in the US with Ritchi Havens. I'd been telling Gil about my issues and he said "you're not the only one with issues" and proceeded to read me what he'd just written. That was 88 but it didn't get released until 2010.
4. "Immigrants - Free at Last" by Malik & The O.G's (Song features Gils drummer Rod Youngs & Gils percussionist Larry McDonald). It was my response to the xenophobia that we faced growing up by people always telling us to "go back to where you came from". After working with Gil I attained the knowledge to answer that trope.