Rock's Backpages

In the new episode of the Rock's Backpages podcast, we welcome into RBP's cosy virtual cupboard the BBC's former Head of Music Entertainment — and the co-creator of the enduring Later… with Jools Holland show. Yes folks, Mark Cooper revisits his career as a music writer — from seeing the last Sex Pistols show in San Francisco in 1978 to interviewing N.W.A. in South-Cental L.A. 1989 — and talks about his long TV career and the hatching of Later in 1992.

Mark's 2008 interview with Neil Young sparks a discussion of the Canadian giant's so-called "doom" years from 1972 to 1976, boxed up this month in the second volume of his monumental Archives project. With special attention to 1975's dark masterwork Tonight's the Night, we hear clips of Neil speaking in 1985 and 2005, then discuss Don't Be Denied, the documentary Mark made about him with director Ben Whalley.

There's yet more audio in the episode as we celebrate the 70th birthday of Steve Van Zandt (or, if you prefer, Miami Steve, Little Steven… or indeed Silvio Dante) with clips from a 1982 interview. The E Street Band legend and subsequent Sopranos star talks to John Tobler about the bands he and his buddy Bruce Springsteen led in mid-'60s New Jersey, after which Mark and his co-hosts compare views on SVZ's side band the Disciples of Soul.

Finally, Mark (Pringle, that is) talks us through his highlights among the week's 50+ new library articles, including great pieces on the Four Tops, David Bowie, Hound Dog Taylor, Dan ('Instant Replay') Hartman and Sheryl Crow … after which Barney quotes from interviews with Prince and Ani DiFranco, talking about Woody Guthrie and Donald Trump's odious dad Fred. That just leaves Jasper to wrap things up with closing remarks on Simon Cowell's ill-fated Girl Thing and former X-Factor contestant Cher Lloyd.

Many thanks to special guest Mark Cooper.

Rock's Backpages is proud to be part of the Pantheon podcast network.

Pieces discussed: Neil Young, Sex Pistols, NWA, Neil Young, Neil Younger, Neil Youngest, Crazy Horse, Steve Van Zandt audio, Four Tops, David Bowie, Hound Dog Taylor, Dan Hartman, Culture Club, Mantronix, Sheryl Crow, Prince, Ani DiFranco, Girl Thing and Cher Lloyd.

In this episode we welcome acclaimed playwright Jez (Jerusalem) Butterworth into RBP's virtual cupboard to talk mainly about The Band – but also about Dolly Parton and other musical tastes shared with hosts Mark, Barney & Jasper. 

Barney gets the ball rolling by asking Jez how an early '90s conversation with Malcolm McLaren led to his first play Mojo – and how music has long played a part in his work. A Butterworth screenplay based on John Niven's peerless novella Music from Big Pink prompts discussion of The Band, taking in clips from Barney's 1991 audio interview with Al Aronowitz, the New York Post writer who first visited Big Pink to report on Bob Dylan's former backing group.

A tangent takes the episode into the terrain of Jerusalem, not to mention Brexit and the rural vs. urban polarisation exemplified by the U.S. presidential elections (still bitterly undecided at the time this episode was recorded). A neat segue leads to a deep appreciation of Dolly Parton, about to publish her autobiography Storyteller. An early Parton interview on RBP's home page provides a perfect springboard for consideration of her unique voice, her politics (or lack thereof), and her cosmetic augmentations.

There's no easy pivoting from Parton to Perry Farrell: suffice to say that – in 1996 audio clips about his Lollapalooza festival and the "spirits" of heroin and cocaine – the former Jane's Addiction and current Porno for Pyros frontman is barmy, brilliant and typically engaging. 

Last but far from least, Mark talks us through his personal highlights from the week's new intake of great interviews and reviews from the golden age(s) of music journalism – including the Daily Express' Ivor Davis dropping in on John Lennon during his "lost" L.A. weekend in 1973, the Village Voice's Richard Goldstein on the "meaning" of Bette Midler in 1975, NME's Paul Morley coaxing quotes out of Joy Division's Ian Curtis in 1979… and that same rag's Steven Wells lambasting pale and uninteresting Velvet Underground devotees in 1993. Jasper takes us out with quotes from a fabulous early interview with Ms. Amy Winehouse…

Many thanks to special guest Jez Butterworth.

The Rock's Backpages podcast is proud to be part of the Pantheon Podcast Network.

Pieces discussed: The Band, Bob Dylan, Al Aronowitz audio, Dolly Parton, Dollier Parton, Dolliest Parton, Perry Farrell audio, Bob Dylan & the Hawks, Steve Winwood, John Lennon, Bette Midler, Manchester bands, Luther Vandross, Velvet Underground, Public Enemy, Amy Winehouse and Baron Wolman.

In this episode, Barney, Mark & Jasper welcome the great Loraine Alterman — live from New York City! — to reminisce about her journey from '60s "Teen Beat" reporter on the Detroit Free Press to co-producer of a new Broadway show about Motown stars the Temptations. Along the way we also hear about New York's Fillmore and Apollo theatres — and how John Lennon came to be Best Man at her wedding to actor Peter Boyle. Then we head back to the Motor City to discuss the genius of Stevie Wonder as he morphed from '60s Motown prodigy to '70s Moog magician.

After paying their respects to the late Spencer Davis – the R&B "professor" who launched the superhuman lungs of 16-year-old Stevie Winwood on the world — your hosts and their guest hear the first of three clips from a compelling audio interview with Elvis Costello, mainly (but not exclusively) telling Adam Sweeting about his 1995 covers album Kojak Variety. Discussion of pop's own Mr. Eclectic ensues before Mr. Pringle talks us through his favourite new additions to the ever-expanding RBP library — including interviews with Brian Jones, Robert Wyatt, Grace Jones … and mall-pop princess Debbie Gibson. Barney cites a prescient 2014 interview about racism and Confederate flags with Lynyrd Skynyrd's Rickey Medlocke, and Jasper wraps matters up with reflections on Jason Donovan and D'Angelo…

Many thanks to special guest Loraine Alterman. For more information about the International Myeloma Foundation’s Annual Comedy Celebration, please visit comedy.myeloma.org.

Pieces discussed: MC-5, Smokey Robinson, Apollo Theatre vs Fillmore East, John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Wonderer, Stevie Wonderest, Spencer Davis Group, Spencerer Davis Group, Spencest Davis Group, Elvis Costello audio, Brian Jones, Soul, Soft Machine, Funkadelic, J. J. Cale, Grace Jones, Debbie Gibson, New Order, Lauryn Hill, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jason Donovan, D'Angelo's Black Messiah and Parody in Popular Music.

This show is part of the Pantheon Podcast Network.

In this episode we invite James "Midge" Ure to talk us through his wonderfully convoluted career in a conversation that stretches from Slik to Visage — via the Rich Kids, the Blitz club and Live Aid — to his present-day Backstage Lockdown Club. With a special focus on the New Romantics, RBP's hosts ask Midge about Ultravox, whose classic Vienna album is 40 years old this week, and touch on the "manifesto" that Sounds' Betty Page put together with Spandau Ballet in that same year.

Midge also pitches in on the passing of guitar-shredder extraordinaire Eddie Van Halen, whose sad loss prompts a general celebration of the pop-metal band that was Eddie's namesake. We also pay our respects to U.S. soul singer turned reggae ambassador Johnny Nash and to country-MOR singer-songwriter Mac ('In The Ghetto') Davis. 

The week's new audio interview being Steven Daly's 1998 conversation with R&B mega diva Mariah Carey, we hear two clips from this very entertaining chinwag ... and then ponder the pros and cons of Carey's career and oeuvre. Mark then walks and talks us through his highlights of the week's new intake of library articles , including seminal pieces on Otis Redding (1966), Ewan MacColl (1975) and Kraftwerk (1977), while Jasper rounds matters off with remarks on reviews of Ricky Martin, Jack White... and Midge Ure live in February this year!

Many thanks to special guest Midge Ure. Join Midge's Backstage Lockdown Club at www.patreon.com/midgeure, and check out the deluxe 40th anniversary version of Ultravox's Vienna.

Pieces discussed: Visage, Spandau Ballet, New Romantics, Van Halen @ Whisky a Go Go, Van Halen, Van Halener, Van Halenest, Johnny Nash, Mac Davis, Bunny "Striker" Lee, Mariah Carey audio, Otis Redding, Jackson Five, Ewan MacColl, Kraftwerk, ABC, Radiohead, Natalie Imbruglia, Dis-Education of Rock 'n' Roll, Ricky Martin, Lester Bangs, Jack White and Midge Ure.

This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts

In this week's episode, we welcome the wonderful Jude Rogers into RBP's very own Gridworld. Live from her native Wales, the far-from-obscure Jude reviews her career as a music scribe from The Llanelli Star to The Word, revisiting interviews with megastar-in-the-making Adele Atkins and wholly reformed cocaine fiend Tony Bennett. Jude also reflects on a 2008 thinkpiece about the Beach Boys' influence on Fleet Foxes, the latter having just "dropped" a rather fine new album, Shore, with minimum fanfare. Additionally, Jude offers her thoughts on the multifarious splendours of Prince's Sign 'O' the Times, the 1987 "double" album oft regarded as his crowning achievement. Hosts Mark, Barney & Jasper reference contemporary reviews of the record and ponder the influence on the purple maestro of departed Revolutionaries Wendy & Lisa.

After noting the passing of blue-eyed soul man Roy ('Treat Her Right') Head – with nods to a nice 1966 profile of the Texan by Britain's Bill Millar – your hosts and their guest hear the first of three clips from Martin Aston's 1986 interview with Sonic Youth, wherein Kim, Lee, Steve and Thurston (new solo album out this week!) discuss, among many other matters, obscure guitars and their interpretation of fellow Manhattaniite Madonna's 'Into the Groove(y)'. The episode concludes with a round-up of particularly tasty additions to the RBP librarium, including a 1966 report on "psychedelics", a 1972 interview with the impressively recalcitrant Bill Withers, a 1988 Smash Hits encounter 'twixt Chris Heath and wannabe-soul boys Wet Wet Wet...and pieces about neglected Motown siren Kim Weston and "postmodern-cabaret" man Max Raabe.

Pieces discussed: Adele, Tony Bennett, Beach Boys influence, Prince, Princer, Princest, Wendy & Lisa, Roy Head, Roy Head: Club Lingerie, Sonic Youth audio, Psychedelics, Beach Boys, Bill Withers, Sex Pistols, Judas Priest, Wet Wet Wet, Elastica, Louise Criscione, Kim Weston, Salt-N-Pepa and Max Raabe.

This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

In this week's episode, we invite cult meta-comedian and out-there-music connoisseur Stewart Lee to discuss the new documentary he's made about Prefects/Nightingales legend Robert Lloyd. Stewart also pitches in on RBP's new audio interview, a 1991 conversation 'twixt the late Andy Gill and everyone's favourite choirboy-voiced Commie Robert Wyatt. In addition we consider the week's featured RBP writer Caitlin Moran, with especial attention to her hair-raising 1994 encounter with Courtney Love. Plus we bid a fond farewell to Kool & the Gang co-founder Ronald "Khalis" Bell and to Simeon Coxe of pioneering '60s oscillators Silver Apples...

Finally, with intermittent interjections from Mr. Lee, Mark picks highlights from the week's trove of new additions to the RBP library, including top pieces on Jimi Hendrix (1967), Rodney "Mayor of Sunset Strip" Bingenheimer (1979), Spandau Ballet (1981) and inimitable drag superstar RuPaul (1993). With Stewart's tastes in mind, Jasper M-B spotlights Wire classics on Laurie Anderson (2001) and Japanese free-music extremist Keiji Haino (2002).

Many thanks to special guest Stewart Lee. Find out more about King Rocker at kingrockerfilm.com.

Pieces discussed: Robert Lloyd, Nightingales, The Prefects, The Chameleons, Robert Wyatt audio, Courtney Love, Kylie Minogue, Spice Girls, Silver Apples, Kool & the Gang, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers, Rodney Bingenheimer, Spandau Ballet, Brothers Johnson, Sinéad O'Connor, RuPaul, Keiji Haino and Laurie Anderson.

The Rock's Backpages podcast is proud to be part of the Pantheon podcast network.

In this week's episode, Mark and Jasper are joined by the fabulous Vicki Wickham to chat all things pop and beyond, starting with her experiences as producer of TV show Ready, Steady, Go! in swinging sixties London, when Vicki became good friends with Dusty Springfield, through writing for Fabulous and Melody Maker to managing Labelle in the 70s and much else besides.

Vicki talks about how she got her foot in the door of television and reminisces about writing lyrics for Dusty, then tells the story of moving to New York to open a US office for Track Records. We then find out how she masterminded the metamorphosis of Patti Labelle and the Blue Belles into groundbreaking pop trio Labelle, who Mark reckons paved the way for TLC and even the Spice Girls.

Vicki, Mark and Jasper then listen to clips from an audio interview with Morrissey, in which the seeds of his later racism are occasionally audible, and Vicki admits that although she was nominally his manager for a short while, he was mostly interested in hearing the stories she had to tell. (In any case, he turned out to be unmanageable.)

The trio then pay tribute to the Heartbreakers' Walter Lure, singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle, Jack Sherman of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and R&B singer D. J. Rogers before Mark and Jasper present some of their highlights from the new pieces going into the RBP library. Mark selects pieces on pop television, Led Zep IV and Patti Smith, and Jasper rounds things out with the Scissor Sisters and Merzbow.

Pieces discussed: Vicki Wickham, Ready, Vicki, Go!, Labelle's Nona Hendryx audio, Vicki Wickham's Pop Guide to London, Graham Nash, Ashford & Simpson, Morrissey audio, Jon Savage with the Heartbreakers, Pete Makowski on the Heartbreakers, Justin Townes Earle, Red Hot Chili Peppers, D. J. Rogers, TV pop, Led Zeppelin IV, David Bowie, Patti Smith's Horses, The Germs, Morrissey, Scissor Sisters, Richard Pinhas & Merzbow and Echo & the Bunnymen.

Rock's Backpages is proud to be part of the Pantheon Podcast Network.

In this episode, Barney & Jasper welcome the legendary Alan McGee into RBP's virtual cupboard. The Creation Records founder talks us through his storied career, from his school days in Glasgow to the Creation 23 label of the 21st century. 

Reminiscing about the early '80s Living Room gigs he put on in London, Alan describes the signings of Oasis, the Jesus and Mary Chain another great Creation acts. He also explains how Primal Scream got from Sonic Flower Groove to Screamadelica; how he almost signed Teenage Fanclub's idol Alex Chilton; how My Bloody Valentine's Loveless did (or didn't) almost bankrupt his & Dick Green's baby; and how appalled Sony were by Kevin Rowland's My Beauty album after the company acquired 49% of Creation's shares in 1992.

Slightly cheekily, RBP's co-hosts then force Alan to listen to clips from a 2007 audio interview with Alex James of Oasis's Britpop nemesis Blur — except it turns out he never really hated those soft southern Sassenachs in the first place: it was all the Gallaghers' fault. Quel surprise…

After paying their respects to fallen pop heroes Wayne Fontana, Trini Lopez and Seeds guitarist Jan Savage, Barney & Jasper talk through their highlights of the week's new "library load ". These include Lillian Roxon's 1966 report on "Music City USA" (i.e. Nashville); Michael Goldberg's 1983 report on MTV's exclusion of Black music videos; Joni Mitchell bellyaching in 1981 about being "written out of rock history"; a breathless 2002 review of Scandi garage rockers the Hives live at London's Astoria, and a riveting Aphex Twin interview from 2003…

Pieces discussed: Creation, Creationer, Creationest, Jesus & Mary Chain, Vile Evil from East Kilbride, Primal Scream, Blur's Alex James audio, Wayne Fontana, Trini Lopez, The Seeds' Jan Savage, Death Discs, Nashville, Wizzard, Patti Smith, MTV, Joni Mitchell, Cleveland punk, Jerry Ragovoy, The Hives, Aphex Twin and Beyoncé.

In this episode we welcome the wonderful Mary Harron, director of cult movies I Shot Andy Warhol and American Psycho. After a brief digression on dating Tony Blair at Oxford, the Canadian relives her memories of the punk rock scene at New York's CBGB club, including her interviews with the Ramones and Talking Heads for John Holmstrom & Legs McNeil's pioneering Punk magazine. Mary also talks about her friendship with ZE's Michael Zilkha and her long fascination with Warhol and the Factory. Along with her hosts, she hears clips from Martin Aston's 1987 audio interview with Tom Verlaine, prompting her recall of his seminal band Television and a general discussion of 1977's classic Marquee Moon album. 

Mark & Barney pay heartfelt tribute to tragic blues-guitar hero Peter Green, ruminating on what made the Fleetwood Mac man so much more emotional a player then his UK blues-boom peers. They also say goodbye to the hilarious CP Lee, former frontman with Mancunian satirists Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias. After bringing Mary's directorial career up to date – with an aside on the American Psycho soundtrack that affords Jasper a chance to wax lyrical about Huey Lewis & the News – Mark selects his library highlights, including notable pieces about Brian Jones, Labelle, the Bush Tetras and, erm, the Knack. Jasper rounds things up – and brings matters back down to earth – with remarks on pieces about "superstar DJs" and Stock Aitken Waterman teaboy Rick Astley… 

Pieces discussed: Mary Harron on the Ramones / on pop art / on Michael Zilkha, Punk Rock, Talking Heads, Shouting Heads, Tom Verlaine audio, Peter Green, Peter Greener, Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias, Rolling Stones, Labelle, Disco, Bush Tetras, The Knack, Jeff Beck, Superstar DJs, Rizzle Kicks and Rick Astley.

In this episode we are joined by self-professed "failed musician" and pasta-sauce mogul Loyd Grossman, OBE, to wax nostalgic about the most important years of his illustrious career: those he spent as a contributor to Fusion, Rolling Stone and other American music papers. Loyd reminisces very amusingly about seminal late '60s shows at the Boston tea party, before explaining how he moved to London and reinvented himself as a British national treasure on TV and in every kitchen in the country. He also recounts how he came to play guitar, three times a year, with Jethro Tull. 

After a digression on the sad passing of Fairport Convention's original singer Judy Dyble, Loyd joins his hosts in hearing clips from a 1982 audio interview with Queen's Brian May in which that poodle-headed plank-spanker describes, among other things , working with David Bowie on the classic 'Under Pressure'. Barney drags Loyd into a discussion of the wrath heaped upon his compatriots the (Dixie) Chicks, whose new album Gaslighter affords the opportunity to examine the close links between country music and hyper-patriotism. Loyd turns out to be a country fan and gives a special thumbs-up to the Chicks' defiant 2006 song 'Not Ready To Make Nice'. 

Mark brings the episode to the boil with remarks on new library pieces such as Lillian Roxon's 1966 review of James Brown at Madison Square Garden, Roy Carr's day out in Hyde Park in summer 1970 watching Pink Floyd and Kevin Ayers, and David Keeps meeting Madonna at the Hard Rock Café. Jasper's chosen pieces include Ian Penman on hip hop and John Calvert on OK Go…

Many thanks to special guest Loyd Grossman.

The Rock's Backpages podcast is proud to be part of the Pantheon podcast network.

Pieces discussed: Bonzo Dog Band, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Groundhogs, Queen's Brian May audio, (Dixie) Chicks, (Less Dixie) Chicks, (Least Dixie) Chicks, James Brown, Pink Floyd & Kevin Ayers, Mama Michelle, Archie Bell, Sex Pistols, Madonna, Anthony Wilson, High Llamas, Jackson Browne, Hip hop books and OK Go.