In this episode we're joined by music-biz legend Danny Goldberg to discuss his dealings with Led Zeppelin and Kurt Cobain — and the school days he spent with the great Gil Scott-Heron.

Danny takes us back to his short-lived stint at Berkeley and his first port of call on returning to his native New York: clerking at trade bible Billboard, a job that led to the publication of his report on 1969's Woodstock festival.

From there we jump to the three years our guest spent working for Led Zep — first as their press agent, then as V-P of their label Swan Song. We revisit the band's conquest and domination of '70s America and hear hair-raising tales of Page, Plant, Bonzo, Peter Grant and Richard Cole... as well as Danny's 1976 exit from the band's dark vortex.

The story of how Nirvana came to be managed by Danny's company Gold Mountain prompts thoughts on Kurt Cobain and mention of the 2019 memoir (Serving the Servant) our guest wrote about him. Danny brings his management and record-label story up to date by previewing the new album by his clients the Waterboys.

The week's new audio interview takes us back to the '60s and to Danny's reminiscences of the young Gil Scott-Heron, who can be heard talking in 1978 to Mark "Radio Pete" Bliesener. The second of two clips — about Richard Nixon — brings us to the shocking present moment of Donald Trump's and Elon Musk's unprecedented assault on American democracy.

After a tribute to the departed Marianne Faithfull — heard talking about the brilliant Broken English album in a short audio clip from 2014 — Jasper quotes from a 2023 Simon Reynolds article about A.I. and music journalism.

Pieces discussed: Woodstock: Peace Mecca, Led Zeppelin: Under The Hood – A Backstage Chronicle of the Historic 1975 Tour, Led Zeppelin: Danny Goldberg's Hideaway, Danny Goldberg: Serving the Servant – Remembering Kurt Cobain (Ecco), Gil Scott-Heron audio (1978), Growing Up With Gil Scott-Heron: In Loving Memory, Marianne Faithfull audio (2014) and I'm a Noted Music Critic. Can A.I. Do My Job?.

In this episode, we invite the excellent Gene Sculatti to talk us through his career from Crawdaddy! magazine to the Atomic Cocktail radio show he still hosts at Luxuria Music.

Commencing in San Francisco in the summer of 1960 — when Gene first heard Dion's 'Lonely Teenager' — we ask our guest about his lifelong love of surf music and the Beach Boys. From there we jump to his mid-'60s radio show "Blues and Such", then on to the first stirrings of the Haight-Ashbury scene he captured in a landmark 1966 report for Crawdaddy! ... and later in San Francisco Nights, the classic 1985 book he co-wrote with the late Davin Seay.

Gene recalls his 1973 move to Los Angeles and his subsequent years as the editorial director of Warner Brothers Records in Burbank. We hear about the company's super-hip in-house publications Circular and Waxpaper, as well as about working under the legendary Derek Taylor. We also discuss his deep love of '80s dance-pop and his 1990 sleevenotes for Madonna's Immaculate Collection.

The episode with clips from a 2012 audio with The Band's sainted keyboard genius Garth Hudson, who was lost to us on 21st January, and finally with quotes from Mark's and Jasper's favourite new additions to the RBP library.

Pieces discussed: San Francisco Bay Rock, Mojo Navigator: Memories of Mojo, "Home Runs, No Bunts" — Solar Power On The Rise, Madonna: The Immaculate Collection, Barry Goldberg Interviews, Articles and Reviews, Barry Goldberg & Bob Dylan's Secret Gem, The World According to Garth Hudson, The Band's Garth Hudson audio, The Walker Brothers, Pop Eye: The New Jazz, Burt Bacharach, Derek Taylor, Sly & Robbie Come On Like Assassins, Wu-Tang Clan: One of These Men Is God, and Thundercat.

For the first episode of 2025, former Rolling Stone staffer and Bay Area photographer Michael Goldberg joins us to reminisce about his music journalism and discuss his new book Jukebox.

We start by asking our guest about the influences of San Franciscan "shooters" from Herb Greene to Annie Liebowitz, with special emphasis on Jim Marshall and Baron Wolman. Michael then recounts the story of how — as a 17-year-old living in Mill Valley — he came to interview the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia in 1970 for his self-published zine Hard Road.

From there we hear about some of the photos Michael took in the '70s, from Frank Zappa in 1975 to the Sex Pistols' final show in 1978. Mention of the great Taj Mahal — photographed by our guest a decade after the country-blues/world-music pioneer posed for Baron Wolman in Topanga — takes us to clips from (and discussion of) a 1982 audio interview with Taj by John Hutchinson.

Finally we ask Michael about his stellar writing career from the San Francisco Chronicle to Rolling Stone — and finally to his trailblazing '90s online magazine Addicted to Noise, for whom he interviewed Prince in 1998.

Many thanks to special guest Michael Goldberg. Jukebox: Photographs 1967–2023 is published by Hozac Books and available now.

Pieces discussed: Introduction to Jukebox, An interview with Baron Wolman, Jim Marshall's jazz images, Jim Marshall, Taj Mahal audio, An audience with Prince, the Beach Boys, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Eric B. & Rakim and the Smash Hits Tour 2000.

For the final episode of 2024 we're joined by the formidable Pat Kane, who answers our questions about his dual career as a musician and writer with what co-host Martin Colyer describes as "an almost frightening eloquence".

Commencing with the formative memories of his late father singing Frank Sinatra songs to him at bedtime — and his lifelong fixation with Ol' Blue Eyes — Pat talks about Hue and Cry, the R&B-infused pop group he formed with his brother Greg in 1983.

Reflections on the success of singles such as 1987's 'Labour of Love' prompt a general discussion of '80s "Brit Soul", with significant input from fellow practitioners Mark Pringle and Martin Colyer. The two linchpins of Hot House recall the 1987 sessions they recorded in the Southern-soul oasis of Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

After bringing the Hue and Cry story up to the present day, Jasper introduces clips from Daryl Easlea's 2001 audio interview with Chic's Nile Rodgers. As a tribute to the group's Alfa Anderson, who died two days before this episode was recorded, Daryl's splendid interview provides the perfect excuse to express our love for disco's greatest self-contained band.

Finally, we ask our guest about his exceptional writing as a cultural and political journalist, focusing in particular on his brilliant pieces about Brian Eno (1995) and Michael Jackson (2009). Mark and Jasper then talk us out with quotes from (and remarks on) their favourite newly-added pieces in the RBP library.

Many thanks to special guest Pat Kane. Subscribe to his Substack at patkane.substack.com.

Pieces discussed: Frank Sinatra, Hue and Cry: "How Well Do You Know Your Brother?", Headin' South: Muscle Shoals '87, Brian Eno: Jingle the Other One, The Man in Our Mirror: Michael Jackson, Nile Rodgers audio, Have You Heard What They're Singing These Days?, Don Cherry, Alicia Bridges, Billy Fury, Rage Against The Machine.

For this episode we're joined by Chris Charlesworth, mainstay of Melody Maker in its '70s pomp and subsequently editorial director of music imprint Omnibus Books. Starting out at Skipton's Craven Herald & Pioneer in his native Yorkshire, Chris talks us through key moments in the Maker years he documents in recent memoir Just Backdated.

Paying particular attention to his stints as a '70s correspondent from L.A. and New York, we also ask Chris about MM colleagues such as Max Jones, Richard Williams and Roy Hollingworth. Recollections of close encounters with the likes of John Lennon and Debbie Harry are followed by clips from a 1989 audio interview in which Elkie Brooks talks to John Tobler about Vinegar Joe and Leiber & Stoller.

After Mark quotes from newly-added library interviews with South African jazz man Dudu Pukwana (1970) and punk icon Jordan (1978), Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on pieces about hip hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash (2009) and Queen legend Freddie Mercury (2023).

Many thanks to special guest Chris Charlesworth. Just Backdated: Seven Years in the Seventies is published by Spenwood books and available now. For more Chris, visit his website at justbackdated.blogspot.com. 

Pieces discussed: John Lennon: Lennon Today, Debbie Harry: Face It, Elkie Brooks audio, Dudu Pukwana, Captain Beefheart & Frank Zappa, Jordan: Love is not easy for a painted lady, Grandmaster Flash, Eagles of Death Metal and A piece of Freddie Mercury.

In this episode we ask the former Time Out editor and acclaimed author of fascinating studies of fonts, maps and encyclopaedias about his long writing career; we also discuss semi-colons and listen to clips from audio interviews with Cher and Luther Vandross. Our guest reflects on Expensive Habits — his 1986 investigation of the music industry's "dark side" — and revisits two of his many great pieces: a hilarious 1987 encounter with Guns N' Roses and a 2003 interview with the newly-solo Beyoncé for the Observer Music Monthly. 

Cher's new autobiography leads to discussion of the singer-actor's remarkable life and work, while the new documentary Luther: Never Too Much prompts thoughts on the sadness of Vandross's double life as a closeted gay man and object of romantic female desire. Among the newly-added library articles we consider, aptly, is Lucy O'Brien's 2001 Q piece "Why Is Pop So Gay?"; we also hear quotes from the late great Eve Babitz's 1979 Rolling Stone celebration of L.A.'s Troubadour club and from Del Cowie's 2009 Exclaim! interview with hip hop elder Big Daddy Kane.

Many thanks to special guest Simon Garfield. For more Simon, visit his website at simongarfield.com. 

Pieces discussed: Guns N' Roses, Cher audio, Beyoncé: Uh-Oh! Uh-Oh! Uh-Oh!, Pete Townshend: Who He Is, Luther Are Good For The Soul, Luther Vandross: Let's Start with Pacman, Luther Vandross: The Sadness Behind the Soul, Shel Talmy, The Good Old Days at L.A.'s Troubadour, Stock Aitken and Waterman, Pet Shop Boys, Why Is Pop So Gay?, Snoop Dogg live and Big Daddy Kane.

In this episode — recorded on the somewhat sombre Wednesday after the U.S. elections — we welcome the wonderful Beverley Glick to our Hammersmith lair and ask her about her New Romantic nom de plume Betty Page.

Beverley tells us about her early days on Sounds, where she started out as editor Alan Lewis' secretary, and talks us through her seminal 1980 encounters with Spandau Ballet and Steve Strange. Her subsequent early interview with Duran Duran leads us to clips from David Keeps' 1993 audio interview with the Brummie band's frontman Simon Le Bon. After touching briefly on Depeche Mode, whom Beverley also interviewed very early on, our guest revisits the short-lived Noise! — Sounds' very own attempt at "doing" a Smash Hits — and recounts her subsequent path to the editorship of the rather longer-standing Record Mirror.

Memories of mad moments with Happy Mondays (for Vox), and Beverley's eventual graduation to national newspapers, take us to her decision to forsake journalism for a career as a life coach specialising in "leadership communication" — and as the author of this year's In Your Own Words.

A few glum thoughts on the political distortion of words such as "freedom" segue into our homage to the brilliant and outrageous Quincy Jones. Mark then quotes from newly-added library pieces about the Who (1965) and Ronnie Scott (1979)... and Jasper wraps up the episode with his thoughts on articles about "Brazilian Prince" Ed Motta (2006) and Tricky's magnificent Maxinquaye (2023).

Many thanks to special guest Beverley Glick. For more Beverley, including info on her books and coaching, visit beverleyglick.com.

Pieces discussed: Spandau Ballet: The New Romantics — a Manifesto for the Eighties, Visage: Stranger In Town, How I Discovered Duran Duran. Or Did They Discover Me?, Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon audio, Quincy Jones Has a Story About That, The Who, Ronnie Scott: King Of Clubs, The World of Ed Motta and Tricky: Maxinquaye (Reincarnated) (UMR/Island)

In this episode we're joined by NME legend Chris Salewicz, author of acclaimed books about Bob Marley, Joe Strummer and others.

We hear about our guest's boyhood in Yorkshire — and about the first gig he ever saw: the Beatles in Leeds in 1963 (followed in rapid succession by the Rolling Stones — plus a young David Bowie — in Huddersfield). Chris then describes how a move to London in the early '70s led to getting his foot in the door at Let It Rock and then, in 1974, at the indispensable New Musical Express.

Discussion of the culture at the NME — sprinkled with yarns about such colleagues as Mick Farren,  Tony Tyler and Tony Stewart — prompts recollections of Chris' interviews with Jimmy Page (in 1977) and Prince (in 1981)... and culminates in the moment he opted to quit the paper for pastures new. A digression on Supertramp's 50-year-old Crime of the Century sparks a passionate defence of that unfairly maligned ensemble by 28-year-old Jasper Murison-Bowie.

Jumping forward to the 21st century, we hear wonderful clips from Gavin Martin's 2006 audio interview with the youngest member of the "27 Club" series Chris collected in his 2015 book Dead Gods. Our thoughts on the astounding talent and tragically short life of Amy Winehouse then follows.

After Mark quotes from newly-added library pieces — Val Wilmer's 1967 interview with free-jazz trailblazer Archie Shepp; Mick Brown's 1975 encounter with Bakersfield country icon Buck Owens – Jasper concludes the episode with his thoughts on a piece about "hip hop's Mozart" J Dilla (2011).

Many thanks to special guest Chris Salewicz. For more Chris and info about all his books, visit chris-salewicz.com.

Pieces discussed: The Gig Interview: Jimmy Page, The Clash: Clash On Tour, Bob Marley: A Day Out At The Gun Court, Prince, Supertramp: Crime Of The Century, Supertramp: To Concept Or Not To Concept?, Supertramp: The Taking of America by Strategy, Supertramp: Is This Really The Most Fun You Can Have With a Washing-Up Glove?, Amy Winehouse audio, Archie Shepp, Buck Owens and J Dilla: The Mozart of Hip-Hop.

For this episode we're joined by the admirable Simon Raymonde, sometime Cocteau Twin, head honcho at Bella Union Records and author of the autobiographical In One Ear.

We commence by asking our guest about growing up as the son of the legendary Ivor Raymonde, string arranger on umpteen hits by pop idols from Billy Fury to the Walker Brothers. We hear clips from Ira Robbins' 1989 audio interview with Raymonde Sr.'s most famous client Dusty Springfield — and discuss a Ray Connolly piece from 1970 in which she more or less outs herself as gay.

Simon then talks about his days behind the counter at Beggars Banquet Records and how they led to his joining the Cocteaus in 1984. Clips from a 1996 audio interview with the trio prompt his reflections on writing and performing with Robin Guthrie and Elizabeth Fraser — and how their extraordinary music won the admiration of everyone from Prince to Jeff Buckley. Simon also recalls the fallout from leaving indie sanctuary 4AD for major-label Fontana.

We conclude by asking our guest about the 27-year-old Bella Union label, home to Midlake, Fleet Foxes, Beach House, John Grant, Flaming Lips and Father John Misty… and to 17-year-old Nell Smith, who tragically died in a car accident three days before we recorded this episode.

After Mark quotes from newly-added library pieces — Val Wilmer's 1966 interview with Sun Ra; Lester Bangs' rave review of the Temptations' Sky's the Limit — Jasper brings the episode to a close with his thoughts on early interviews with Alicia Keys (2001) and Amy Winehouse (2004).

Many thanks to special guest Simon Raymonde. In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor and Me is published by Nine Eight Books and available now from all good bookshops. Visit the Bella Union Vinyl Shop at 25 Church St in Brighton and online at bellaunionvinylshop.com.

Pieces discussed: Cocteau Twins, Cocteau Triplets, Cocteau Quadruplets, Dusty Springfield audio, Dusty Springfield: Dusty at 30... loneliness is an occasional thing, Sun Ra: Flying Saucers Coming To Take Me Away, Ha Ha!, The Temptations: Sky's the Limit, Alicia Keys: Move over Macy and Whine and Song; Amy Winehouse hits out at girl singers and why she's one of the very best.

For this episode we're joined – all the way from sunny Southern California – by L.A. Times legend Robert Hilburn.

Bob beams in to discuss his new biography of the peerless Randy Newman, but we start by asking him about the early childhood memories (of his native Louisiana) that he shares with Randy himself. From there he takes us from the Eureka moment of hearing a then-unknown Elvis Presley on the radio for the first time – through his teen years in suburban SoCal – to his early freelance pieces for the Times. Which include his account of accompanying Johnny Cash to Folsom Prison in January 1968...

Bob's famously influential 1970 review of Elton John at West Hollywood's beloved Troubadour club gives us a chance to discuss the halcyon days of singer-songwriters and leads directly on to Randy Newman, whose "Troub" debut in the same year Bob also reviewed. We talk at length about the satirical genius behind 'Sail Away', 'Short People' and 'I Love L.A.', revisiting the 50-year-old Good Old Boys in depth and listening to clips from John Hutchinson's 1983 audio interview with Randy.

Pieces discussed: Doug Weston: A Man Who Had a Passion for Art of the Troubadour, Elton John @ the Troubadour, Randy Newman @ the Troubadour, Randy Newman audio interview, Thelonious Monk, The Problems of Being Roger McGuinn, Felton Jarvis: Nashville Producer and Cornershop.