This week we travel to Forest Hills, Queens, New York to trace the origins of the legendary punk band The Ramones. 

While Joey Ramone is actually the only Ramone born in Forest Hills, it is this conversation suburb of New York which creates one of the iconic bands in the history of NYC. 

The bands influences include 1960s Girl Groups, The Beatles, The Beach Boys & Elvis Presley. 

The bands first big takes place in March of 1974 with Joey Ramone on drums. They played original material from the start - with varying explanations as to why. 

Johnny Ramones would probably have preferred to bat for the New York Yankees than be in a band but his famous guitar sound is there from the beginning. 

Arturo Vega designs the famous Ramones logo however he is not paid royalties on the subsequent mass marketing of the design. 

New York City figure Danny Fields comes in as the bands manager & they subsequently sign to Seymour Stein’s Sire Records. 

The debut album clocks in at just 28 minutes & features a now iconic photo taken by Roberta Bailey who had only been taking photos for a few weeks at the time the picture was taken. 

Their next few albums Leave Home & Rocket To Russia repeat the trick with such classics as Rockaway Beach & Sheena is a Punk Rocker. 

Tommy Ramone leaves the band, breaking up the original line up having tired of touring. 

The band continue to search for a hit & bring in Phil Spector for the End Of The Century album. 

Joey & Johnny Ramond fallout & do not speak to each other for 16 years while touring relentlessly. 

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

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it. 

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

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Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell

Music by Andy Maxwell

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This week we bring you a very special conversation between singer/songwriter Amy Rigby & Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go’s) to mark the publication of Amy’s brand new book Girl To Country. 

Amy Rigby has established herself as one of America’s enduring underground/cult/indie artists, combining the insight and humor of country and folk songwriting with classic rock craftsmanship and punk DIY spirit.

Kathy Valentine has been a working musician and songwriter for over 40 years, ever since she started her first band at age 16 in her hometown of Austin, Texas. After moving to Los Angeles, Kathy joined a band that would go on to make music history: The Go-Go’s. 

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

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it. 

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

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Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell

Music by Andy Maxwell

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In July of 1966 the biggest band in the world touched down in Manila in the Philippines to play 2 shows at the Rizal Memorial Stadium - and we are joined by David Guerrero whose book You Won't See Me - When The Beatles Ghosted Imelda is out now on Penguin.

Why did the Beatles choose to play in the Philippines? Who made the call to tack it onto an existing trip to Japan? There are a number of bizarre incidents including a press conference at a local Naval Base, a proposed overnight stay on a boat in Manila Bay & of course the infamous no-show to visit the First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos.

Hysterical TV coverage follows & subsequently the huge security detail assigned to the band was withdrawn, as was room service back at their hotel, a large 'income tax' bill also arrives.

All this takes places while the Beatles play 2 of the biggest shows of their career on July 4th 1966 - the daytime show drew a crowd of 30,000 people while over 50,000 attended the evening show (potentially significantly more since many came in through unmanned gates at the stadium).

This was the Beatles final tour & they only play 1 song released in 1966 at either show, their latest single Paperback Writer.

After the 2nd gig things begin to turn sour & when leaving the country the following dat the band are jostled at the airport (resulting in driver Alf Bicknell ending up with fractured ribs), the management at the airport even turn off the escalators & make The Beatles park in the main car park with the general public, not treatment they were accustomed to by 1966.

On the plane out of Manila, John Lennon declares he won't tour again & the bands days as a touring act come to a close the following month after a show at Candlestick Park in San Francisco & to this day none of the Beatles ever returned to the Philippines.

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

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it. 

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

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Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell

Music by Andy Maxwell

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This week we start in Brooklyn to chart the life & career of Carole King - from her beginnings as part of a local Doo Woo group through to the unprecedented success of Tapestry via New York’s Brill Building. 

Carole King & Gerry Goffin’s big break came when they are asked to write a hit for girl group The Shirelles - the song they hand in, Will You Love Me Tomorrow shoots to number 1 & sells over a million copies. 

They replicate the success with their next release The Locomotion, inspired & sang by their babysitter Eva. 

They have dozens of other hits as one of the key songwriting partnerships of their era including Chains, Up On The Roof, Crying In The Rain, Some Kind of Wonderful & dozens more. 

You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman) becomes a huge hit for Aretha Franklin in 1967 & also features on Carole’s breakthrough solo release Tapestry. 

The album initially receives a quiet reception upon release in 1971 but goes onto sell tens of millions of copies & its influence is still felt today as it is passed down through generations. 

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

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it. 

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

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Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell

Music by Andy Maxwell

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Baz Warne frontman of The Stranglers joins us this week to talk us through his new book & to tell us a little about his recent tour & his history with The Stranglers, the Toy Dolls & more. 

Baz was born in Sunderland but it was while briefly living in Vancouver he first discovered the guitar. Upon returning to Sunderland, Baz sets about learning to play. 

His diligence is rewarded when at age 19 he is asked to join the biggest band in the north east at the time, punk band The Toy Dolls. He travels across Europe & the US multiple times with the band although his bass part is replaced on the bands biggest hit Nelly The Elephant after he leaves the band after about 18 months. 

His next band Troubleshooters morphs into Small Town Heroes & he spends the next 8 years hammering the circuit in the north east & across the country. 

In 2000 Baz is invited to audition to join The Stranglers although he initially turns down the invitation. After nailing Golden Brown he is offered the job on the spot. 

For his first 3 years with the band he plays guitar as the band play tour consistently - over time he starts to contribute songwriting as the band make a return to form with the Norfolk Coast album. 

Following the 2006 departure of singer Paul Roberts, Baz takes over as vocalist. 

We hear about some of Baz’s most memorable gigs including Glastonbury, The Royal Albert Hall (with Jimmy Page in attendance) & being heckled in Newcastle. 

Baz also shares a few memorable stories from over the years including encounters with Debbie Harry & AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson. 

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

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it. 

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

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Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell

Music by Andy Maxwell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roddy Bottum is best known as the keyboard player in Faith No More & his new book The Royal We is out now on Akashic Books. 

Roddy moves to San Francisco from L.A. in 1981 & a l;ittle while later he joins what was originally known as Faith No Man. After a few lineup changes (including a brief stint with Courtney Love as lead vocalist) the band morphs into the first incarnation of Faith No More with Roddy writing their breakthrough track We Care A Lot. 

The band make their first trip to the UK for a small tour including a show at Dingwalls in London. 

Things really start to come together when lead vocalist Mike Patton joins & The Real Thing album comes out in 1989 - backed by a top 10 single in Epic. 

Roddy’s keyboard sound sets the band apart from their contemporaries & a huge tour with Metallica & Guns n Roses follows. We hear about Roddy’s experiences as a gay man in this very masculine & often toxic world. 

The Angel Dust album follows in 1992 as the bands commercial peak continues - the band comes to an end in 1998 although a couple of reunions have took place since in 2009 & 2015. 

Roddy also tells us about his other project Imperial Teen, a very different sounding band to Faith No 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 this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it. 

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

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Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell

Music by Andy Maxwell

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This week we celebrate 50 years of The Undertones with the one & only Mickey Bradley - our starting point is Derry in the late 1970s as we trace the formation of the band at the O’Neill house on Beechwood Avenue. 

Although the initial idea for the Undertones was a folk band playing Mandolins - everything changes when they hear The Ramones & the early punk records - realising they need to speed up their songs. 

Vincent O’Neill leaves & younger brother Damien joins to round out the lineup with Feargal, Mickey, Billy & principal songwriter John. 

The first gig takes place in a local scout hall but its at Derry venue The Casbah where the band hone their craft, playing weekly for over 18 months from early 1977.

Their first visit to a recording studio remarkably results in the Teenage Kicks EP & it is released via legendary Belfast record shop burgeoning record label Good Vibrations. 

The bands lives are changed forever when John Peel takes a liking to the record & plays it on his radio show - Mickey tells us about the varying accounts of how Peel got hold of the record. 

John Peel famously played Teenage Kicks twice in a row on September 25th 1978 & Sire Records head Seymour Stein heard it while on a trip to the UK, resulting in the band signing to the prestigious New York home of The Ramones & Talking Heads. 

Teenage Kicks also leads to an appearance on Top Of The Pops (the bands second time in a studio) & the rest is history. 

The Undertones have tour dates throughout 2026 & you can get Mickey’s book here.

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

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it. 

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell

Music by Andy Maxwell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are joined by an all-star panel comprising founder member of The Jam, Steve Brookes, Acid Jazz founder Eddie Piller & Dan Jennings, author of Paul Weller - The Oral History. 

We retrace the early years of The Jam from Steve & Paul playing in Paul’s bedroom on Stanley Road in Woking, through Bruce Foxton & Rick Buckler joining the band. 

However Steve dislikes the direction the band is taking & leaves before they are catapulted to success in with In The City after signing to Polydor. 

We hear about their early material, the early mod scene in & around London, the infuleucne of punk on Paul Weller, specifically the Sex Pistols & hoe the famous graffiti The Jam logo was born. 

Eddie Piller tells us about how he interviewed Paul for his fanzine at a young age while also getting Paul a McDonalds, toured across Holland & France going to Jam gigs & how close Paul was to signing for Acid Jazz in the early 90s. 

The story has a happy ending for Steve Brookes when he reconnects with Paul Weller in the 90s - playing on 22 Dreams & other recent Weller projects. We also find out if he might have fit into the Style Council more than The Jam. 

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

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it. 

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell

Music by Andy Maxwell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week esteemed writer & broadcaster Robert Elms joins us to tell us about the legendary Blitz nightclub in London’s Convent Garden. 

Back then Central London looked very different to today - back then it was an empty & desolate wasteland of abandoned buildings & crumbling blocks. 

But from this rose a cultural phenomenon - starting at Billy’s as a David Bowie night & then moving onto The Blitz came a nightclub so legendary at least 70 of its regulars went onto achieve global prominence in some form. 

Punk had peaked & in the gap came the extravagantly dressed creatures that inhabited The Blitz - regulars included founders Steve Strange & Rusty Egan, Boy George, Sade, Gary & Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet, Mudge Ure, Billy Idol, Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama & many more. 

Within 18 months of this club night starting many of its regulars are in the charts both at home and& in the US with Visage, Ultravox, Spandau Ballet, Sade, Banarama, Culture Club & more all achieving huge success. 

Affirmation came in July 1980 when David Bowie visited The Blitz. 

It was over within 18 months, drawing to an end towards the end of 1980. 

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

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it. 

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

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Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell

Music by Andy Maxwell

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Join us to celebrate 100 episodes of Music Maps with the mighty Kevin Rowland to discuss hew recent memory Bless Me Father & the story of Dexys Midnight Runners. 

We start with Kevin’s early years in Wolverhampton, the families relocation to the London suburbs & how he ended up attending the 1966 World Cup Final & briefly meeting Cassius Clay. 

Kevin’s tells us about his early years as a skinhead, his early musical influences including Bob Dylan & Bryan Ferry, his brief career in hairdressing & the beginnings of his first band Lucy & The Lovers. 

The band morphed into punk band The Killjoys with future bandmate & collaborator Kevin Archer. 

Kevin develops a very specific idea for a band right down to the clothes, the dancing & the unique brass sound. 

We hear how Kevin missed Joy Division while having a haircut, how close Dexys ever came to signing to Two Tone & their appearance on the famous Two Tone tour.

Geno reaches number 1 & Dexys become much better known with their debut album Searching For the Young Soul Rebels (we also hear what actually happened with the demo tapes for the album). 

However just as success arrives Kevin veers in a different direction & develops a new version of Dexys with multiple new members & a different sound. This incarnation go on to score huge hits with Come On Eileen & Jackie Wilson Said both featuring on the Too-Rye-Ay album. 

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

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it. 

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell

Music by Andy Maxwell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.