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Rock's Backpages

By: Barney Hoskyns Mark Pringle Jasper Murison-Bowie
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  • Summary

  • Tales from the world's largest archive of music journalism: entertaining interviews with luminaries such as Neil Tennant, Billy Bragg, Pamela Des Barres, Gary Kemp, Vashti Bunyan, Midge Ure, Nick Hornby and Robyn Hitchcock. Thoughtful and informative conversations about all aspects of popular music history, interspersed with clips from exclusive audio interviews that date back to the mid-'60s. The RBP podcast is hosted by Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle and co-hosted & produced by Jasper Murison-Bowie. We're a proud part of Pantheon — the podcast network for music lovers.
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Episodes
  • E177: Val Wilmer on free jazz + photography + Lesley Gore audio

    E177: Val Wilmer on free jazz + photography + Lesley Gore audio
    May 28 2024
    In this episode — our first-ever "field recording" — we travel up to North London to interview the legendary writer-photographer Val Wilmer. Val takes us back to her earliest musical memories in Streatham, South London, and her immersion in the capital's '60s jazz and blues scenes. We hear about her first pieces for Jazz Journal and her experiences of interviewing (and photographing) the likes of blues singer Jesse Fuller. We also hear about her remarkable DownBeat interview with Jimi Hendrix from early 1968. Val's classic 1977 book As Serious As Your Life — reissued in 2018 — provides the pretext for asking about her passionate championing of the "free jazz" of John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and others. We focus on her 1966 Melody Maker encounter with the extraordinary Albert Ayler and the unsolved mystery of his death in 1970. A discussion of Val's deep involvement in the women's movement leads us to clips from Ira Robbins 1994 audio interview with the late Lesley ('It's My Party') Gore — and in particular her startling photo-feminist classic 'You Don't Own Me', six decades young this year. Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on Alan Light's 1991 Rolling Stone interview with Queen Latifah. Many thanks to special guest Val Wilmer. As Serious As Your Life is published by Serpent's Tail and available from all good bookshops. Pieces discussed: Jimi Hendrix: An experience, Once Upon A Time In Williamsburg, Ayler: Mystic tenor with a direct hot line to heaven?, Memories of Hoppy: An interview with Val Wilmer, The New Jazz Gets With It (That Means With Contemporary Art), Tempo: Coltrane, Shankar and All That Rock & Roll, Coltrane, Davis, Monk, Mingus, Lesley Gore audio and Queen Latifah's New Gambit.
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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • E176: Simon Day on the Fast Show + Brian Pern + Steely Dan audio

    E176: Simon Day on the Fast Show + Brian Pern + Steely Dan audio
    May 13 2024
    In this episode we welcome Fast Show legend Simon Day to downtown Hammersmith and ask him about his musical passions and the immortal Life Of Rock With Brian Pern. We start with our guest's misspent youth in south-east London, where he frequently saw bands such as Dr. Feelgood and local lads Squeeze and even fronted his own punk combo Simon & the Virgins. We hear about his early days on the standup circuit and his close associations with Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer and the gang that coalesced around The Fast Show. From there we discuss the genesis of his "prog'n'roll" alter ego Brian Pern and his affectionate lampooning of Peter Gabriel. Clips from a 2003 audio interview with Steely Dan prompt an in-depth conversation about Donald Fagen and the late Walter Becker. During this, Simon tells us how he first fell for the arch duo and we collectively compare notes on some of the group's greatest songs and albums. After a brief mention of featured writer Dorian Lynskey and his new book Everything Must Go, Mark quotes from newly-added library pieces about Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx and Beatles hairdresser Leslie Cavendish before Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on M. People's Heather Small and a particularly cantankerous Van Morrison. Many thanks to special guest Simon Day. Pieces discussed: Genesis Doing The Foxtrot, Genesis: No "Pale" Imitation, Seventies prog rockers Genesis are back, but are they welcomed?, All Apologies: Brian Pern, Steely Dan audio, Wayne Robins on the RBP podcast, Pete Seeger, Kendrick Lamar, Why do pop stars fall for conspiracy theories?, Dorian Lynskey on the RBP podcast, Mötley Crüe, Beatles hairdresser Leslie Cavendish, Elvis, The King Remembered — An oral history, Heather Small: Proud, Los Campesinos!, and A duel with Van Morrison.
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • E175: Steffan Chirazi on Metallica + Jack Casady audio + John Sinclair

    E175: Steffan Chirazi on Metallica + Jack Casady audio + John Sinclair
    Apr 15 2024
    In this episode we welcome the splendid Steffan Chirazi to RBP Towers and ask him about his career as a metal/hard rock specialist and his long association with the mighty Metallica. We hear about our guest's lucky break as a 15-year-old Motörhead maniac when the band's frontman Lemmy gave up three hours to Steffan during the sessions for 1983's Another Perfect Day – and became a dear friend for life. Steffan then recounts how he got his foot in the door at Sounds and its enduring HM spinoff Kerrang!. The first of many interviews with Metallica led to Steffan moving to San Francisco, where the band's bassist Cliff Burton showed him around town – only to die, tragically, in a car crash just months later. Clips from Barney's 1996 audio interview with Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield prompt a conversation about our guest's close involvement with the thrashmeisters and his eventual stewardship of their in-house mag-turned-website So What! Following the metallic section of the episode we return to the older San Francisco of Haight-Ashbury and its '60s summer(s) of druggy love. Clips from Gene Sculatti and Davin Seay's 1984 audio interview with Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna bassist Jack Casady – about to turn 80 as we record this episode – give us the chance to ask Steffan about the days of the Grateful Dead and their many hirsute friends. From there we switch to the rather different environment that was late '60s Detroit, paying tribute to poet, political firebrand and MC5 manager John Sinclair. We circle back to Steffan's post-Kerrang! career and hear about his 1999 encounter with David Bowie before Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on newly-added library pieces about LL Cool J and Eels. Many thanks to special guest Steffan Chirazi. Find him on Patreon at patreon.com/steffyspurs and read the Metallica magazine So What! at metallica.com. Listen to the official Metallica podcast at https://metallica.lnk.to/TheMetallicaReport. Pieces discussed: Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister: The Man Behind the Myth, Metallica: Thrash on Delivery, Metallica audio, Jefferson Airplane's Jack Casady audio, Portrait of the Artist: David Bowie, LL Cool J: Time Traveller and Eels: Shootenanny!.
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    1 hr and 22 mins
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