Music Maps - The Rock n Roll Book Club Podcast

You can see our upcoming live events here:

https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/live/

Steve Wynn joins us to tell us all about his time with the Dream Syndicate, the formation of the band & the Paisley Underground scene. Steve's new book is out now on Jawbone Press & his latest record Make It Right is out on Fire Records.

The Dream Syndicate formed in 1981 with Kendra Smith, Karl Precoda & Dennis Duck joining Steve in the band. Steve briefly had another band with Sid Griffin who later formed the Long Ryders but chose to concentrate on what became the Dream Syndicate.

The band comes together remarkably quickly with a demo, first show & a band name all within 3 weeks of forming - their debut EP followed shortly after & sold out its initial pressings immediately.

The scene that builds becomes known as the Paisley Underground & also includes The Bangs (later The Bangles), Salvation Army (later The Three O'Clock) & Rain Parade. Other bands including Green On Red & The Long Ryders are described by Steve as 'Paisley Adjacent'.

The band sign with LA label Slash Records & release their debut album The Days of Wine & Roses in 1982 which is an instant success.

The Dream Syndicate's first national tour follows & features a stop at the 9.30 Club in Washington D.C. & the legendary Maxwells in Hoboken & a missed show at the Danceteria in New York. Prince (allegedly) attended the bands show at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

Kendra Smith leaves the band shortly after the tour & with that the first phase of the Dream Syndicate comes to an end.

Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon Cardwell

Written & Produced by Simon Cardwell

Edited by Andy Maxwell

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Featuring exclusive clips from Jah Wobble, Stewart Lee, Caroline Catz & Richard Norris sharing their memories of the Scala Cinema.

You can see our upcoming live events here:

https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/live/

You can watch the Scala documentary on BFI Player:

https://player.bfi.org.uk

Scala documentary makers Jane Giles & Ali Catterall join us to share the history of the cinema from its original Soho location & its 2nd home in Kings Cross in London.

The first cinema was built on the site of the Scala Theatre which featured extensively in The Beatles' feature film debut A Hard Days Night in 1964. This original Soho location opened as a cinema in 1976 originally known as The Other Cinema, becoming the Scala in the summer of 1978.

The cinema soon gained a reputation for its eclectic programming & diverse clientele. The Scala also put on gigs including Throbbing Gristle, Spandau Ballet,

The Slits, A Certain Ratio, Durutti Column & New Order.

The Scala relocated to Kings Cross in 1981 but the new location had a musical history of its own having played host to gigs from Hawkwind, Soft Machine, Flamin’ Groovies, Mott the Hoople, Status Quo, Viv Stanshall, Lou Reed (the cover for Transformer was taken here) & Iggy & The Stooges (the Raw Power cover was also taken at the Scala at their only UK gig).

At the new location the Scala's legendary all nighters soon became infamous & were attend by the likes of Ian Curtis, Shane McGowan & more.

The Scala closed its doors in 1993 in the wake of the lease for the building reaching an end & a controversial screening of A Clockwork Orange.

Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon Cardwell

Written & Produced by Simon Cardwell

Edited by Andy Maxwell

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

Clem Cattini tells us about the birth of British rock & roll - Clem has played on over 40 number 1 singles, including Shakin’ All Over by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates & of course Telstar with his band the Tornados, the first British band to top the charts in America. 

We start in late 1959 when Clem leaves Larry Parnes represented backing band The Beat Boys & subsequently ends up as a member of Johnny Kidd & The Pirates. In early 1960 they hit the top spot with the iconic 'Shakin' All Over'.

Despite this success the band played some less than salubrious gigs which we hear all about - as well as the origin of Johnny Kidd's famous eye patch & how he came to leave The Pirates.

Not long after Clem auditions for Joe Meek at his legendary studio at 304 Holloway Road, subsequently joining The Tornados - we hear all about the goings on at Joe's studio, his time with Billy Fury & how the Tornados later came to make the legendary Telstar - becoming the first British band to top the US charts in late 1962.

Clem also became friends with The Beatles as they crossed paths on the concert circuit of the early 1960s & tells us about his many encounters with the Fab Four.

We regularly run live in conversation appearances, you can see our upcoming events here:

https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/

Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon Cardwell

Written & Produced by Simon Cardwell

Edited by Andy Maxwell

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

Part 2 of our chat with Prince biographer Matt Thorne picks up where we left off with the release of his debut album For You in 1977 on Warner Bros.

We find out about Prince's fast way of working in the studio along with his decision to produce, sing & play most of his records himself.

Prince put a full time band together following the release of his debut album & heads out on his first proper tour since singing to Warners.

His second album titled simply Prince follows in 1979 & spawns 3 hit singles  (‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’, ‘I Feel for You’ and ‘Sexy Dancer’) - I Wanna Be Your Lover sells over a million copies in the US but remarkably fails to crack the top 10 in the chart.

A strange appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand follows & Prince's 'I Feel For You' becomes a huge hit for Chaka Khan.

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Join us as we chart Prince's formative years in Minneapolis, Minnesota with biographer Matt Thorne.

We discuss his family background, how he came to be named Prince, his early bands & songwriting (he wrote his first song at the age of 7).

Prince's early influences remained pretty consistent throughout his life & included Larry Graham, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, Sly Stone, the Jacksons, Tower of Power, Miles Davis, Carlos Santana, Joni Mitchell, Rufus and Chaka Khan.

Some of the early gigs Prince attended included James Brown, Joni Mitchell & Todd Rundgren leading to the formation of his first band Grand Central.

Prince's remarkable work ethic was there from the start & this leads to his eventual signing to Warner Brothers Records in 1977, then one of the largest contracts for a new artist in history.

Part 2 picks up where this leaves off & goes into detail on Prince's first 2 albums, early singles & tours.

Signs

Key role of British writer/producer Chris Moon

The many home recordings

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Pulp Part 1 - Nick Banks joined Pulp in 1986 after seeing an ad outside Sheffield Leadmill & as a fan of the local band already decided to audition, making his live debut at the Adelphi Hotel in Hull shortly after.

Following Jarvis Cocker's decision to relocate to London in 1988, Nick follows suit & Pulp begin to focus more on gigs in the capital. The Separations album is recorded the following year but doesn't come out until 1992.

Island Records eventually become interested & the His n Hers album begins to take shape. A John Peel Session follows 13 years after Pulp's first & Jarvis Cocker borrows £5000 off his Grandma to facilitate the release of the Babies single.

Geoff Travis comes to the rescue amid wrangling with the band's label & the His n Hers album is recorded at Britannia Row Studios in Islington, North London.

A Top of the Pops debut follows & gigs with Blur & Supergrass come shortly after as well as a memorable Christmas gig at the Theatre Royal.

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Join us to take a deep dive into the little known history of Joy Division right here on our home turf in Walthamstow, East London. Find out from a first hand source how the band came to play 2 gigs here in 1979 - how it came about, how many people were there, what happened & more.

Joy Division's first trip to London had been in late 1978 when they played the Hope & Anchor in Islington just after Christmas, at that gig they met some punks from Walthamstow & later come to play 2 shows at the now demolished youth centre on Markhouse Road. About a week later the now iconic bridge photo was taken of Joy Division by Kevin Cummins.

Following their debut release the Factory Sample, on March 30th 1979 Joy Division play their first gig in E17, after which the band stayed at a house on The Crescent here in Walthamstow lying on mattresses in the living room.

Hear about some recently uncovered photos from this stay in E17 as well as the conjecture over whether the band stayed or not as they entered Strawberry Studios in Stockport the very next day to begin recording the Unknown Pleasures album with Martin Hannett.

We will tell you about some of the mysteries surrounding the 2nd gig as the date is officially unknown & little remains in terms of advertising, promotion, setlist or bootleg recordings.

Also hear about how Ian Curtis's legendary Mac featured in several iconic photos ended up in a charity shop here in Walthamstow.

Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon Cardwell

Written & Produced by Simon Cardwell

Edited by Andy Maxwell

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

Join us on our first trip to Scotland, Edinburgh to be precise to retrace the history of on elf post-punk's most iconic bands, Josef K. The band were only around a few years but their influence has grown enormously in the intervening years, biographer Johnnie Johnston takes us through our first look at C81, Postcard Records, & the Sound of Young Scotland.

We talk about the Scotland of the 1970s & how it differs from today, how the band met & came together, The band's connection with the Worlds End Murders of October 1977, Josef K's key influences including the Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, Iggy & the Stooges & of course the advent of punk.

A key gig in the city of Edinburgh took place at the Playhouse in May of 1977 when The Clash, Subway Sect, The Jam, The Slits & Buzzcocks all appearing on the same bill. The band later open for the Clash in 1980. We discuss both as well as the legendary 'Sound of Young Scotland' showcase gigs in Edinburgh & Glasgow. Josef K also got support slots with Magazine, Bauhaus, The Cure, Teardrop Explodes, Echo & the Bunnymen in the wake of those legendary gigs.

Was Postcard was the right fit for the band? We also mention earlier signings to the label including The Go-Betweens, Aztec Camera & Orange Juice.

Along with that we touch on Josef K's unique sound with 3 rhythm guitars but no lead, the John Peel session the band recorded, their subsequent influence on the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Wedding Present & The Smiths.

And of course, Josef K's curious decision to re-record their debut album, their sudden break up & a little about what happened to the members after & much more.

Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon Cardwell

Written & Produced by Simon Cardwell

Edited by Andy Maxwell

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

We welcome Jah Wobble to tell us about his time with PiL (Public Image Limited) - we start with how he joined the band, touch upon his youth with John Lydon, who came up with the name of the band & the brief early involvement of Richard Branson. We hear about how Keith Levene & Jim Walker joined the band (and Jim's departure later) as well as signing with Virgin Records shortly after. Jah describes the chaotic finances of the band & the key part photographer Dennis Morris played in the story.

We hear about how the innovative PiL band logo came to be & the arrival of the debut album First Issue arrives in late 1978 followed by the novel idea of playing gigs on Christmas Day & Boxing Day at the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park.

Jah explains how PiL songs nearly always start with the baseline & build from there & how this played into the Metal Box album which follows in November 1979 & how the famous metal container cover came about. We hear a couple of unusual stories including Chris Blackwell's brief involvement & the prospect to sign with Island Records in the US along with a meeting with Martin Scorsese to discuss the soundtrack for Raging Bull.

Factory Records gets a mention as a label which may have been a better fit for the band in hindsight - we also hear about the bands first US tour in early 1980 - Jah tells us how the audiences compared to back at home as well as how this tour ultimately became his last appearances with the band as he left upon returning to London.

All this & more - if you like this episode please leave us a review or star rating on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon Cardwell

Written & Produced by Simon Cardwell

Edited by Andy Maxwell

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

Biographer Lesley-Ann Jones joins us to talk about Paul McCartney's time in Scotland living on High Park Farm near Campbeltown. We talk about his decision to buy this property in a remote part of Scotland, his & John Lennon's links (or lack of) to Scotland, Linda's role in Paul & his family spending more time there & the privacy it subsequently afforded them. We move onto discuss some of the key songs written at the farm over the years including Heart of the Country, The Lovely Linda & That Would Be Something as well as some that were recorded there in Paul's home studio such as Back To The Egg & McCartney II. We discuss the impact of Linda McCartney's photos taken at the farm which later appeared on the cover of Ram & the inner sleeve of McCartney I. Moving on we really dig into the writing, recording, release, video shoot & more for Mull of Kintyre - how Paul came to meet & work with the Campbeltown Pipe Band, the huge success of the song in the UK, its comparable lack of success in the US, the various videos & TV appearance which followed & how the song fit upon its release in 1977, the year of punk.

Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon Cardwell

Written & Produced by Simon Cardwell

Edited by Andy Maxwell

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