Word In Your Ear

Elliot Mintz, then a West Coast radio presenter, met the Lennons in 1971, the start of a close, unique and extraordinary friendship and hours of late-night phone calls. And he’s finally written a book about it, We All Shine On: John, Yoko & Me, which records the isolated, complicated life they led imprisoned by their celebrity, at times joyous and outlandish, at others bleak and uncomfortably revealing. All bases covered here, among them …

… “his view of Paul changed with days and temperature – brotherly love, jealousy, discomfort …”

… how they dealt with the FBI bugging their apartment.

… being present at John and Paul’s eventual reunion and what might have happened if they’d picked up guitars.

 … how he heard the news of Lennon’s death.

… booking hotels as ‘Fred and Ada Gherkin’.

... the Lost Weekend and Lennon reverting to his Hamburg days.

… how it felt to sort and catalogue John’s possessions.

… abandoned by his father, abandoning his son: Lennon going on holiday with Brian Epstein two weeks after the birth of Julian.

 … ordering in pizzas from across the road in New York’s most exclusive restaurants.

… “all he could see onstage was McCartney’s face when they shared a microphone”.

… John’s thoughts about the competition – Dylan, the Stones, McCartney.

… “a friendship to the exclusion of all else”.

Order Elliot’s book here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/We-All-Shine-extraordinary-friendship/dp/0857506072

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Brushing aside the cobweb spray and luminous flashing skulls, we ring rock and roll’s doorbell in pursuit of both tricks and treats. Among which you’ll find …

… the gothification of entertainment … Harry Potter, Creedence Clearwater and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings.

… Donald Trump dancing to Jeff Buckley. 

… why Phil Lesh was the heart and soul of the Grateful Dead.

… John Cooper Clarke playing a 23,000-seater and the rise of Spoken Word.

… Bah! Humbug! The full horror of Halloween and its infernal TV specials.

… Allen Ginsberg’s International Poetry Incarnation at the Albert Hall in 1965.

… Rihanna’s dietician, therapist, spiritual advisor and hospitality liaison manager.

… the auditions for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

… the curse of having everything you want.

… John Lennon imprisoned in the Dakota – without the internet! And his mishandling of an Austin Maxi.

 … Helen Mirren’s thing about Kurt Cobain.

… why Phil Lesh, John Entwistle, Jack Casady and Paul McCartney were a breed apart.

… when Mark King’s father kicked him out of the family home.

… plus Abraham Lincoln, Fields of the Nephilim, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Eraserhead, the Batcave and birthday guest Matthew Elliot wonders if anyone had greater love songs written about them than Rosanna Arquette (by Toto and Peter Gabriel)?

Mama Tried by the Grateful Dead. Just LISTEN to Phil Lesh’s bass playing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP4gy0TBDfU

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Mark King and Level 42 have just announced 2025 tour dates and he talks to us here about …

… the value of what you learn in covers bands from being ignored.

… why being thrown out of home for being thrown out of school was the best thing that ever happened to him.

… Level 42’s first gig, kicked off after four songs.

… Chile, Turkey and other new markets on the “flatter world” tour circuit.

... supporting the Police, Tina Turner, Queen and Madonna in the ‘80s.

… how John McLaughlin (from Doncaster) and Allan Holdsworth (Bradford) inspired other people “from far-flung places like us”.

… Rockin’ Robin, Long-Haired Lover From Liverpool and playing three nights a week in an Isle of Wight novelty act, aged 11.

… the onstage dynamic between Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins.

… the complications of having to book big venues two years in advance.

… being the bassist in the Prince’s Trust house band backing Bowie and Mick Jagger.

… Billy Cobham, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and “the genius” of Steve Winwood.

Level 42s World Machine 40th Anniversary Tour here:

https://www.level42.com/

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This is an extraordinary story on many levels – about the power and sanctuary of music, about what it took for bands to get noticed in the ‘70s, about how a teenager obsessed with King Crimson eventually joined the band and about the struggles of “a rabid Henry Cow fan trying to get on Top of the Pops”. Jakko Jakszyk is a fabulous storyteller, both in his memoir ‘Who’s the Boy With The Lovely Hair?’ and on this podcast with the two of us. Among the highlights …

… two things musicians need to know.  

… why the divisive appeal of music and comedy is so similar.

… life in a band where “Stravinsky meets the Barron Knights”.

… “Who’ll be the singing Jack Russell?” Doing voice-overs as a piece of toast and a baked potato with a Yorkshire accent.

... the quaint Englishness of Soft Machine, Caravan and King Crimson and why they were like “a holiday resort no-one knew about”.

… why there are even more idiots in advertising than the music business.

… the rigours of the Melody Maker Folk Rock Contest, aged 17, judged by Tommy Vance, Bob Harris and Brian May of Queen.

… the militant wing of the Adrian Belew Fan Club.

… Dave Robinson’s sage advice after telling him he was “unfashionably heterosexual”.

... why Robert Fripp is more Miles Davis than Frank Zappa and the longest audition in history.

…the complications of the King Crimson reunion caused by one person who shall remain nameless – “though let’s call him Greg Lake”.

… “two screaming lead guitars and a trumpet, what could possibly go wrong?”

… and working with Pete Sinfield, Peter Hawkins, Sam Brown and Nigel Planer.  

Order Jakko’s book here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lovely-Unlikely-Memoir-Jakko-Jakszyk/dp/1838491864

Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

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Applying our patent wheat-chaff separator to recent rock and roll events, we filter out the following …

… “They’ve got the guns but we got the numbers”: whatever happened to political songs?

… the life of Libby Titus and the afterlife of Love Has No Pride.

… when gigs become stalking with a musical component.

… how Taylor Swift Tickets became the new currency.

… the most disappointing album of all time (we know the answer).

… who’s the Zeppo Marx of rock and roll?

… the old music/football analogy revisited.

… when fans think they own a band.

… the New York Rock And Soul Revue that revived Steely Dan.

… has any American star beguiled Britain more than Taylor Swift?

… when Lennon failed to swing the vote.

… does anyone convey loneliness better than Bonnie Raitt?

… our own personal rock and roll fantasies – eg Dr John recycling and Bob Dylan in his Star Wars jim-jams.

 … plus birthday guest Phil Turner - Bill Berry, Gene Clarke, Vince Clarke and the irreplaceable magic ingredient of one band member.

ROLLING STONE’S MOST DISAPPOINTING ALBUMS OF ALL TIME:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/most-disappointing-albums-ever-1235111528/

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You’ll know Miranda Sawyer from the Observer and the radio and, possibly, from her days at Smash Hits and Select magazines that form the foundation of her new book, Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs, a time spent watching, interviewing and hanging out with the collection of misfits and outsiders fast becoming the last great musical movement this country ever saw. This pans in on the period between April 1993, Select’s ‘Yanks Go Home’ cover, and August 1997 when Oasis released Be Here Now. A ton of highlights, among them …

… why bands hated the term Britpop – and who invented it.

… when your life in your 20s becomes history and period drama.

… are Oasis conservative or just “classically Northern”?

… why Britpop was the last hurrah of the traditional media.

… the long slow burn of Jarvis Cocker and the rise of the Beta Male.

… the impact of Select’s famous Union Jack ‘Yanks Go Home’ cover.

… why Edwyn Collins was the Godfather of Indie (and Britpop) and the song that never stopped selling.

… Ric Blaxill at Top of the Pops, Matthew Bannister at Radio One and other unsung architects of Britpop.

… lava lamps, swirly rugs, space hoppers and the charity shop tat that replaced the matt black shiny ‘80s.

… Jarvis v Jackson, Blur v Oasis and other great engines of the tabloid press.

… “Manchester had the bands and the mythmakers (Tony Wilson, Paul Morley) …”

… why the weekly music press was the Twitter of its time.

… comparing Blur in ‘90s clubs to Wembley Stadium in 2023.  

… will Oasis be the last ‘household name’ band?

… could Britpop have happened without the press?

Order Miranda’s book here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Uncommon-People-Britpop-Beyond-Songs/dp/1399816896

Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

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Our record-breaking partnership faces a fresh set of spin bowlers on the rock and roll pitch but rifles a few shots over the pavilion roof, among them …

… the time Elvis let his daughter ride her pony through the house.

… when Moon Zappa (10) found naked hippies making candles in the garden.

… “Can you get that? It might be someone important.” The Queen when her mobile rang.

… Billy Joel’s daily commute to work by helicopter.

… John Peel, Elton John, Robert Christgau … who’s listened to the most music in the history of the planet?

… “Choice is a tax, a penalty”: the faint sense of nausea you get from Netflix’ fathomless sense of abundance.

… how Elvis became a hillbilly with an unlimited budget.

… are ChatGPT’s music recommendations actually quite useful? We test the Beatles, Joni Mitchell and Miles Davis.

… “what kind of a genius doesn’t have medical insurance?”

… old WW2 movies v the new Netflix series? There’s only one winner …

… plus Abba, Steampacket, Steeleye Span and Humble Pie: supergroups that worked.

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Hugh Cornwell is preparing for his “All The Fun Of The Fair” tour which begins in November and here he talks to David Hepworth about:

….why rehearsals are best in bursts

….why he no longer carries keyboards

….the special magic of going to see Chuck Berry with Richard Thompson

….how the two of them have recorded “Tobacco Road” for an Alzheimers benefit record

…being at the Marquee when Clapton, Beck and Page all played with the Yardbirds

….playing the Golders Green Ionic with Helen Shapiro

….how there are nights when the guitarist think it’s been a disaster but the drummer knows it’s been a triumph

…the film podcast (http://mrdemillefm.com/) that started as a hobby

…what you can expect when his tour (http://www.hughcornwell.com/tour/) hits your town.

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We aimed the airgun of enquiry at this week’s rock and roll side-stall and dislodged the following coconuts …  

… sports star, Rhodes scholar, bohemian: why Kris Kristofferson was a whole new breed of American hero.  

… the letter his parents wrote disowning him.

… how he invented the crossover hit.

… echoes of his life in Five Easy Pieces.

… Fellini’s La Strada and the story of ‘Me And Bobby McGee’.

…. ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ and other songs written to order.

… why the past is the age before mobile phones.

… Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Leonard Cohen, Carly Simon: the kiss and tell school of songwriting.

… why Tracey Thorn misses the age of the autograph.

… who’d be famous in the 21st Century?

… “What do you think about when you’re playing the drums?” Cameron Crowe’s lost 1983 time capsule.

… in a lift with Ken Barlow.

Plus birthday guest Paul Cook and the furthest you’ve ever travelled for a gig.

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Christine McVie - one of only two British girl rock musicians in the ‘60s and part of the greatest pop soap opera of all time. Neither in the backline or the frontline but occupying a unique middle ground. Packed it in for 16 years then returned to the fold. Lesley-Ann Jones’ fresh and emotional memoir Songbird follows “the trajectory of a male rock star played by a woman”, the home she was keen to escape, the outer limits of life in Fleetwood Mac’s “toxic Camelot” and the rigours of holding her ground in a man’s world. We cover all sorts here including …

… the lasting effect of not having “an ordinary mother”.  

… the night in Sunderland that made her think again.

… when your best friend sleeps with your fiancée.

… supporting the Shadows when she was 15 at the 2I’s in Soho.  

… Etta James, Chicken Shack and playing the Reeperbahn.

… why rock stars can never be part of a village community.

… Fleetwood Mac’s West Coast Elysium: “they were all as bad as each other”.

… “cute and dangerous” meets “lifeline and anchor”: the love affair with Dennis Wilson.

… why she and John McVie both needed a wife.

… and her lifelong connection with the blues, “a sadness you can’t cure”.

Order Songbird here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Songbird-Intimate-Biography-Christine-McVie/dp/1789467217

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Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

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