In this episode, we talk to Fred Patterson, aka Phast Phreddie, about his work at the ARChive of Contemporary Music, plus his own magazine Back Door Man and his band Thee Precisions.

Beginning with his early musical life teaching classes with Don Waller at UCLA's Experimental College, we hear about how he named Back Door Man after a Howlin Wolf song and wanted to cover "hard core rock n roll". Phreddie remembers how different it was working with R. Meltzer compared to Lester Bangs, who both contributed to the mag.

Next, we hear about where Thee Precisions got their name and how they were intended as a garage rhythm 'n' blues combo that might fit into south central L.A.'s rockabilly scene without doing rockabilly. 

After telling us about moving across the country to help set up a record shop in Albany, Phreddie then takes us back to the ARChive of Contemporary Music's original mission statement to collect two of every record and explains how they operate.

Three clips from a 1977 Mary Wilson audio interview prompt Barney to wonder whether the Supremes are the greatest girl group of all time. To wrap things up, we pay tribute to Sly Dunbar of Sly & Robbie before Mark and Jasper talk us out with highlights from pieces including interviews with Isaac Hayes and De La Soul.  

Many thanks to special guest Phast Phreddie Patterson. Find out more about the ARC at arcmusic.org.

Pieces discussed: Articles, interviews and reviews from Phast Phreddie Patterson, The L.A. Rock Explosion, Gun Club: You Can't Go Home Again, Phast Phreddie Finds His Calling, Building the ARC, Not Fade Away: The ARChive of Contemporary Music, Collecting Gone Mad: The ARChive of Contemporary Music, Mary Wilson audio, Sly & Robbie: The Reggae Heartbeat – Freedom Into Form, Sly and Robbie: Laying Reggae's Bottom Line, Alan Price, Cat Stevens, Isaac Hayes, Ronnie & Clyde and De La Soul.

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of rape (40:37–42:20).

In this episode we ask Bob Stanley about his career as a writer and member of the beloved Saint Etienne, whose swansong year this is.

We start with Caff, the '80s fanzine which set out the eclectic pop aesthetic that underpinned Saint Etienne, proceeding from there to Bob's memories of life on Melody Maker in the late '80s and early '90s.

A clip of our guest's erstwhile MM colleague Simon Reynolds talking about Saint Etienne in 2021 is the cue for a general discussion of the trio's evolution over the last 35 years – and for an explanation of their (very amicable) decision to call it a day after a tour this September.

Revisiting the epic "story of pop" that was Bob's 2013 tome Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! leads to clips from Hank Bordowitz's 1997 audio interview with the late Connie Francis, the Jersey girl who in the late '50s and early '60s was arguably the biggest female pop artist in America.

After Mark pays a lifelong Deadhead's tribute to the late Bob Weir, he quotes from newly-added library pieces about the Nice (1967), Tom Wolfe (1969) and Paul McCartney (1979). Finally, Jasper sees us out with his thoughts on interviews with Ini Kamoze (1995) and D'Angelo (1998).

Many thanks to special guest Bob Stanley. Visit his website at bobstanley.co.uk and find Yeah Yeah Yeah in all good bookshops.

Pieces discussed: Saint Etienne, St. Etienne: Holier Than Thou, Saint Etienne: Cats Eyes and Legless, Bill Haley, Bob Stanley: Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! – The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyoncé, Connie Francis was a trailblazing pop star haunted by tragedy, Connie Francis audio, The World According to Cliff, Alone again gratefully: Bob Weir proves he's more than Dead, The Nice, Tom Wolfe, Paul McCartney, Ini Kamoze, Voodoo Chile: D'Angelo and Yungblud.

For this episode we're joined by Sonic Youth legend Thurston Moore to discuss his new book Now Jazz Now: 100 Essential Free Jazz and Improvisation Recordings, 1960-80.

We start by recapping on the story our guest told in his acclaimed 2023 memoir Sonic Life. In the course of the conversation about his early musical life in Florida and Connecticut we hear a clip from Steve Roeser's 1994 audio interview with him. Discussion of early influences such as the Stooges takes us back to Thurston's stint in the late J.D. King's New York band the Coachmen – and then on to Sonic Youth itself.

Our guest's friendship with neo-gonzoid scribe Byron Coley – a brilliant guest on our podcast last summer – takes us up to the present and the publication of Now Jazz Now. A general conversation on the subjects of "free jazz" and "improv" ensues, taking in clips from Thurston's pal David Toop's 1995 audio interview with the late Derek Bailey.

After Mark has quoted from newly-added library pieces about Bill Evans (1972) and OMD (1984), Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on James Brown's 1994 loaded encounter with the Beastie Boys.

Many thanks to special guest Thurston Moore. Now Jazz Now is published by Ecstatic Peace Library and available from ecstaticpeace.net/now-jazz-now.

Pieces discussed: Sonic Youth, Sonic Youth And the Blast First Axis, Derek Bailey audio, Cecil Taylor: Ladies and gentlemen, please adjust your re-entry goggles, David Toop: Gorilla Noises & Mains Hum, Bill Evans: Living Time With Evans, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark: OMD and The Beastie Boys: Still Ill.

For this episode we're joined in our Hammersmith HQ by James ("The Hardest Working Man In Show Business") Brown.

The former NME star and founder of "lads' mag" progenitor loaded takes us back to his Yorkshire boyhood in Headingley. He recalls his parents' record collection, the first gigs he attended as the class "smart-arse" at Lawnswood School... and his acclaimed '80s fanzine Attack On Bzag!

Our guest's account of how he came to contribute to Sounds leads to clips from the late Andy Gill's 1991 audio interview with the KLF, the maverick duo of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty whom James championed in the paper's pages in 1987.

After waxing nostalgic about his days at the NME, James gives us the origin story of the hugely successful loaded ("for men who should know better") and talks us through the publishing phenomenon it triggered. A discussion follows of '90s sexism and its connection to the misogyny of today's "Manosphere".

Many thanks to special guest James Brown. Animal House: Music, Magazines, Mayhem is published by Quercus and available now from all good bookshops. Zine Age Kicks is available through James' Instagram, @jamesjamesbrown.

Pieces discussed: The Beastie Boys: Keep Taking The Tabloids, Mark E Smith, Nick Cave & Shane MacGowan: The Three Horsemen Of The Apocalypse, The KLF audio⁠ and The decline of lads' mags: Unloaded, and now the party is over.

In this episode we welcome not one but two wonderful guests to RBP Towers. Susan Compo and Derek Ridgers have been trans-Atlantic pals for decades and first met on a FourFourTwo assignment to interview and photograph the L.A.-expats "soccer" team Hollywood United.

Starting with Susan's punk years in Southern California, we hear about her memories of seeing the Sex Pistols live in Dallas and Tulsa in January 1978. She also talks about her trip to London the year before, prompting Derek's recall of the punk scene he began photographing at clubs such as Vortex and the Roxy. Derek then rewinds his story to his late '60s days at Ealing School of Art when fellow student Freddie Mercury nicked his girlfriend in a local pub.

The conversation oscillates between Susan's reflections on her career move – from music journalism to short stories about star-crossed Goths – and Derek's memories of the New Romantic "movement" he documented so brilliantly in early '80s London. In between clips from John Tobler's 1984 audio interview with Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley, Derek talks about his approach to his chosen medium.

After touching on Derek's years at Loaded magazine and Susan's terrific books about Warren Oates and David Bowie, we discuss our shared passion for football/"soccer" before paying tribute to Derek's former NME colleague Jack Barron. Jasper then talks us out with quotes from newly-added library pieces about Grandmaster Flash (2000) and Boy George (2024).

Many thanks to special guests Susan Compo and Derek Ridgers. Susan's books, include Malingering and David Bowie and The Man Who Fell To Earth are available from all good bookshops. You can visit Derek's website at derekridgers.com and his latest book, Hello, I Love You, is published by IDEA. 

Pieces discussed: The Sex Pistols Shoot To The Top, The Cure: Happily Ever After, White Noise/White Sands: The Bowie Who Fell to Earth, Gary Kemp on the RBP podcast, New Romantics, Electro-Disco: Night Moves, Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley audio, Jack Barron, Nick Cave: The Needle And The Damage Done, The Stone Roses: Bliss This House, Gregory Isaacs: Gregorian Rants, Gong: The Gong Remains The Same, The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash in the Game of Life⁠ and ⁠Boy George⁠.

In this episode we're joined by Pete Paphides, former rock critic for the London Times and author of 2020's acclaimed memoir Broken Greek.

We start with our guest's unique "'Starman' moment" – seeing the Brotherhood of Man lip-sync to the ghastly 'Save Your Kisses for Me' on Top of the Pops in 1976 – and then plunge straight into a celebration of his favourite pop group ABBA. We hear about his love of the Swedes' countless classic songs; his interviews with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson; and how the quartet was indirectly responsible for his marriage to fellow scribe Caitlin Moran.

Pete talks us through his journalistic odyssey from ill-fated pubescent fanzine Pop Scene via the longer-lasting Perturbed to Jim Arundel's mentoring of him at Melody Maker. Talk of his tenures at Time Out and The Times leads to his memory of "falling back in love with music" after years of being glutted with free records.

The 60th anniversary of the release of 'Uptight' takes us into clips from Amy Linden's 1995 audio interview with the musical colossus that is Stevie Wonder – and a broad discussion of the Motown legend's creative evolution from 'Uptight' to Songs in the Key of Life.

After Mark quotes from a 1963 review of the Beatles' first album Please Please Me, Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on Jaan Uhelszki's 2015 interview with the extraordinary Joanna Newsom.

For this episode — the first to feature RBP's editorial co-ordinator William Pike — we're joined by Melody Maker legend Simon Price for a discussion of his career, his championing of Manic Street Preachers, and Radiohead's first tour since 2018.

Beginning in the South Wales town of Barry, we hear about Simon's boyhood, his formative pop passions and the first of his distinctive sartorial metamorphoses. He recalls his late '80s move to London and the years at Melody Maker that took in his first interviews with fellow Welshmen the Manics and his integral involvement in the Neo-glam sub-genre known as Romo.

Our guest's review of the first Radiohead album provides the cue for clips from Amy Linden's 1997 audio interview with Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. We hear Thom talking about the just-released OK Computer and about his beef with Melody Maker itself: this prompts a general discussion of the band's standing as they prepare for the first date of their European tour.

After reflecting on the 13 years he spent reviewing gigs for the Independent on Sunday, Simon discusses the gestation of 2021's Curepedia, the "Cure A-Z" he assembled for White Rabbit books. We conclude the episode with tributes to jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette and keyboardist David Ball, phlegmatic foil to Soft Cell frontman Marc Almond.

Many thanks to special guest Simon Price. Curepedia: An A–Z of the Cure is published by White Rabbit and available from all good bookshops.

Pieces discussed: Articles, interviews and reviews from Simon Price, Manic Street Preachers: Drags to Riches, Radiohead: Pablo Honey, Radiohead audio (1997), Jack DeJohnette: More Than One Way, Soft Cell: Cell Division and The Tainted Life of Soft Cell

In this episode we invite the highly entertaining Lisa Verrico to join us from her native Glasgow and talk us through her career from IPC's Vox magazine to The Times.

Commencing with her memory of first hearing Prince's 'Little Red Corvette' as a kid on holiday in Spain, our guest recalls her days of raving (and working in radio) before describing how she got her foot in the door at Vox. Hair-raising Mancunian encounters with Happy Mondays and Mark E. Smith serve as preludes to Lisa's hilarious 1994 interview with Oasis. We hear her "bootleg recording" of the Gallagher brothers' competing impersonations of Mick Jagger on the band's impromptu rendition of 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'.

A broad discussion of what the '90s meant for pop culture takes in Lisa's memories of Oasis hanger-on Evan Dando and of the altogether different My Bloody Valentine. Clips from a 1989 audio interview with the latter's Kevin Shields and bandmates prompt reflections on MBV's extraordinary sound and their somewhat dysfunctional relationship with Creation's Alan McGee.

We return to Lisa's own story by asking her what happened after Vox folded in 1998 — and how she wound up  reviewing (and interviewing) for The Times for 25 years. We also discuss how much the live music experience has changed in that time. Finally, we hear about our guest's 2019 trip to L.A. to interview 17-year-old superstar-in-the-making Billie Eilish.

After paying heartfelt tribute to cult neo-soul star D'Angelo — note that news of the death of former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley only reached us after this episode was recorded — Mark quotes from a 1984 interview with jazz giant Wynton Marsalis and Jasper takes us out with his thoughts on Joe Muggs' 2011 interview with the great James Blake.

Many thanks to special guest Lisa Verrico. You can find her writing in The Times. 

Pieces discussed: Oasis: Shake'n'vac, Evan Dando: Baby I'm Bored, Evan Dando: "I get the feeling I'm being bullshitted", Evan Dando: The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get, Evan Dando: Different Drum, My Bloody Valentine audio, Billie Eilish, D'Angelo: Soul Asylum, On D'Angelo and the Birth of Neo-Soul, D'Angelo: Black Messiah, Wynton Marsalis: The Hottest Lips in America and James Blake: Point Blake.

In this episode, the great R&B/hip hop writer Michael A. Gonzales joins us online from Baltimore to look back on his long career.

We start with our guest's formative musical memories, from hearing Isaac Hayes' 'Theme from Shaft' and meeting Little Anthony & the Imperials to seeing the Jackson Five live at Radio City Music Hall in February 1975. His earliest inklings of New York's rap scene take us back to his 2008 piece about the trailblazing DJ Kool Herc playing block parties in the Bronx of the early '70s.

We hear about Michael's first pieces for The Source, arguably the most important hip hop magazine of the late '80s and '90s, and about his collaboration with Havelock Nelson on the 1991 book Bring the Noise. We also discuss a Barry White interview he did for Danyel Smith at Vibe and learn about his friendships with fellow writers from Barry Michael Cooper to Amy Linden.

The latter's audio interview with TLC ties in with Michael's own writing on the hugely successful Atlanta trio, and we listen to clips of Chilli, T-Boz and Left Eye talking to Amy in late 1998 about their upcoming third album FanMail.

After Mark quotes from pieces about the Velvet Underground (1967) and Earth, Wind & Fire (1974), Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on reviews of Radiohead's Kid A (2000) and – by RBP's William Pike – the Bug Club live in London last month.

Many thanks to special guest Michael A. Gonzales. Find him on Substack at substack.com/@michaelagonzales1 and on Instagram @bigmikeg151.

Pieces discussed: Michael A. Gonzales, D.J. Kool Herc: The Holy House of Hip-hop, Barry White: Blackberry Jam, TLC Marks 20 Years of CrazySexyCool, TLC (1998), The Velvet Underground and Nico (Verve), Earth, Wind and Fire: The Sound of the Streets, Orrin Keepnews' Milestones, Radiohead: Kid A and The Bug Club at the MOTH Club.

In this episode, we ask one of the greatest music writers of the rock and roll era to talk about Mystery Train as he celebrates its 50th anniversary with a brand-new edition of his classic book.

Talking to us from Oakland, 6,000 miles away in his native Northern California, Greil Marcus looks back on the pivotal moments that led to his starting work on Mystery Train in the fall of 1972: his experiences as a student at Berkeley, his discovery of film critic Pauline Kael and his early writing for Rolling Stone.

From there we focus on the book's extraordinary chapters about Sly Stone and Elvis Presley before relating its overarching theme – America as an "invented nation" – to the Trump administration's assault on the diversity that produced so much great art from Walt Whitman and Herman Melville to Robert Johnson and Randy Newman.

A somewhat abrupt switch takes us over to our side of the pond and our guest's second book: the vast "secret history of the 20th Century" that was 1989's Lipstick Traces, along with the 1993 collection of his punk writings entitled In the Fascist Bathroom.

Clips from Paul Moody's 2018 audio interview with Jamie Reid – the subversive graphic designer who became Malcolm McLaren's principal partner in iconographic crime – prompt Greil's reflections on what made (the) Sex Pistols such a vital sea-change in the subculture of rock and roll.

 Many thanks to special guest Greil Marcus. The 50th anniversary edition of Mystery Train is published by Faber and available now.

Pieces discussed: Greil Marcus⁠, ⁠Greil Marcus: A Life In Writing⁠, ⁠The Band: We Can Talk About It Now⁠, ⁠Jamie Reid audio⁠, The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Parlophone)⁠, Ray Davies: A Study In Frustration, The Pet Shop Boys: Hip, Clever and Pop and The Black Keys Acknowledge Their Muses on Delta Kream.