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Word In Your Ear

Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold
patreon.com
930 episodes

Mark Ellen and David Hepworth have been talking about and writing about music together and individually for a collective eighty years in magazines like Smash Hits, Mojo and The Word and on radio and TV programmes like "Rock On", "Whistle Test" and VH-1.Over thirteen years ago, when working on the late magazine The Word, they began producing podcasts. Some listeners have been kind enough to say these have been very special to them. When the magazine folded in 2012 they kept the spirit of those podcasts alive in regular Word In Your Ear evenings in which they spoke to musicians an...

Episodes

E886

Scores McCartney still wants to settle, Country Joe and the rise of ‘destination gigs’

about 14 hours ago

1h 2m


E885

Shaun & Bez and other Odd Couples we love

Mar. 8

50m


E884

The Kinks’ chaotic ascent mapped out day-by-day is ‘a nirvana for any fan’

Mar. 8

41m


E883

How A Hard Day’s Night ripped up the pop movie rulebook

Mar. 6

44m


E882

Bob Dylan and the Beatles, a tale of envy, affection and intense rivalry

Mar. 5

36m


E881

Mark Lewisohn and why writing the real Beatles story just got harder

Mar. 3

49m


E880

Albums we bought because we liked the title

Mar. 1

46m


E879

How Glenn Tilbrook transformed the life of Squeeze

Feb. 25

33m


E878

The Skids, Big Country and the unsettling story of Stuart Adamson

Feb. 24

46m


E877

There are only three Rock National Treasures – and we name them!

Feb. 22

49m


E876

Keith & Chuck, Bowie & Tina, Frank & Elvis and what we learnt from rock’s joint ventures

Feb. 18

41m


E875

Boston, Def Leppard, bad hair & the golden age of rock radio

Feb. 17

35m


E874

Was Bad Bunny at the Superbowl the greatest show ever staged?

Feb. 16

1h 3m


E873

Andy Bown remembers the Herd, Judas Jump and 47 years in Status Quo

Feb. 10

32m


E872

How the album survived and why it satisfies the soul!

Feb. 10

38m


E871

Racy pulp paperbacks, teenage Joni and the BRIT School versus the age of the amateurs

Feb. 8

47m


E870

David Bowie and the triumph, mystery and struggle of his third act

Feb. 3

39m


E869

Days with Bowie, Prince, the Stones, Hendrix & the Clash by David Sinclair

Feb. 2

1h 2m


E868

The genius of Sly Dunbar & Catherine O’Hara plus Springsteen’s anthem and old New York

Feb. 1

56m


E867

Adele Bertei, New York’s art-rock explosion and Eno’s shopping list

Jan. 28

35m


E866

Steve Lillywhite produced the Stones, U2, Siouxsie, XTC - ‘the last leg of the relay’

Jan. 27

54m


E865

Who’d be a nepo baby? plus the mystery album that outsold the Beatles

Jan. 25

47m


E864

Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention, back in the van with a bag of toffees

Jan. 22

37m


E863

Miles Hunt of the Wonder Stuff - ‘I’d rather make people laugh than applaud’

Jan. 21

41m


E862

Kenney Jones remembers the Small Faces’ masterpiece

Jan. 20

25m


E861

The fabulous Bob Weir and how the Grateful Dead invented the internet

Jan. 18

39m


E860

Steve Cradock on Ocean Colour Scene, Mod hair & the ghost of Ronnie Lane

Jan. 16

28m


E859

Mary Coughlan, onstage from the age of five - ‘Applause and lemonade!’

Jan. 12

25m


E858

Pet Shop Boys at 40, missing folk star found! & rock stars’ childhood bedrooms

Jan. 11

52m


E857

From Dylan to Chappell Roan, pop’s 60-year obsession with Brigitte Bardot

Jan. 4

56m


E856

Peter Hammill, Van Der Graaf Generator and what makes them unique

Dec. 29

33m


E855

Do all panned albums end up loved? And what’s the most significant record sleeve?

Dec. 21

53m


E854

Paul Kelly – ‘national treasure!’ - and the song that took 30 years

Dec. 18

48m


E853

Lucinda Williams is fighting on every front

Dec. 17

32m


E852

Beastie Boys, Frankie, teds, punks, raves - ‘moral panics’ remembered!

Dec. 15

1h 2m


E851

Punk Rock recalled by Chris Sullivan - can music STILL be outrageous?

Dec. 9

34m


E850

UK Subs’ Charlie Harper (81) has served 50 years in the punk wars. Give this man a medal!

Dec. 8

32m


E849

Fairytale of New York's full story & the imperishable genius of Steve Cropper

Dec. 7

54m


E848

The Beatles versus Capitol Records and ‘the greatest marketing hype in history’

Dec. 3

47m


E847

The Undertones are 50! And no-one’s more amazed than Damian O’Neill

Dec. 2

34m


E846

Jimmy Cliff, unseen Beatles and the greatest bassline on record!

Dec. 1

1h 3m


E845

Boo Hewerdine’s funny and alarming account of real life on the road

Nov. 26

34m


E844

Legendary duos who met by chance, RIP Mani & ironing to gangsta rap

Nov. 23

59m


E843

Kula Shaker’s Crispian Mills had a colourful childhood

Nov. 19

38m


E842

The Beach Boys’ story gets more tangled by the minute

Nov. 18

36m


E841

What makes a rock star a ‘ledge’ & the daft rituals of the ‘70s disco

Nov. 16

50m


E840

Rock’s fascination with the Third Reich exposed by Daniel Rachel

Nov. 14

35m


E839

Paul Weller – ‘gloriously chippy’ – as seen by friends, family, fans and collaborators

Nov. 13

34m


E838

Did rave kill dancing in couples? Stars seen in strange places?

Nov. 11

39m


E837

David Bowie and why we need him more than ever. Paul Morley looks back in wonder

Nov. 6

30m


E836

‘Bob Dylan is my father’ - and why Sam Sussman is convinced it’s true.

Nov. 5

27m


E835

Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey had a ‘manifesto for success’. Here’s how it worked

Nov. 4

34m


E834

Cowbells, maracas, gongs, castanets – classic percussion parts demonstrated!

Nov. 3

45m


E833

The Smiths’ Mike Joyce on triumph, gladioli & Morrissey when he was still ‘Steve’

Nov. 2

41m


E832

Records that sound unique and why all bands need a backlash

Oct. 26

47m


E831

Paul Young – “Big in the ‘80s! What lucky bastards we were!’

Oct. 25

34m


E830

Billy Bragg – 40 years, 2,700 gigs and what he learnt from Taylor Swift

Oct. 22

34m


E829

Mark Kermode tells us stories about music in movies

Oct. 21

40m


E828

How many bands can you name every member of?

Oct. 19

48m


E827

The Zombies’ Colin Blunstone – a psychedelic showpiece then ‘washed up’ aged 21

Oct. 17

36m


E826

Led Zeppelin’s fight for attention and how they fudged their backstory

Oct. 14

39m


E825

Stones, Blondie, Iggy and songs that make a movie & why we loved Diane Keaton

Oct. 13

54m


E824

Ringo and why the Beatles wouldn’t have worked without him

Oct. 10

37m


E823

Rock stars we envy, Madonna as a sister-in-law & the British obsession with poshness

Oct. 5

52m


E822

Bowie, Boy George and the rise of the riotous Blitz club with Robert Elms

Oct. 3

32m


E821

The Prince story by 200 people who knew him - and John McKie

Oct. 1

39m


E820

The three London kids who invented rock style

Sep. 30

34m


E819

Danny Thompson’s bass adventures, Dylan’s women, TV satire and great sleeve art.

Sep. 28

56m


E818

Thea Gilmore on Joan Baez, Jake Thackray and Dave Pegg’s dog starting her career

Sep. 24

26m


E817

How pioneer tape-rat Roger Armstrong found vintage America a whole new audience

Sep. 23

48m


E816

Why Van and Fairport make the perfect send-off, Robert Redford & the best-looking rock stars

Sep. 22

47m


E815

John Prine, Elvis Costello and a jukebox on fire

Sep. 18

39m


E814

Alex's star-studded week in Hollywood

Sep. 15

44m


E813

Peter Hammill on Bowie, other superfans & 47 albums of ‘self-sabotage and chaos’.

Sep. 12

36m


E812

Talking Heads, where they came from and where they went - with Jonathan Gould

Sep. 10

45m


E811

Freddie Mercury has a daughter’ – and Lesley-Ann Jones can prove it

Sep. 10

31m


E810

Oasis in 2026, the Troggs and what Morrissey’s only gone and done now!

Sep. 8

52m


E809

‘Hey Joe’, its miracle birth & why violent songs are like True Crime - by Jason Schneider

Sep. 3

36m


E808

Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span drove Rev Gary Davis round Britain in a Triumph Herald

Sep. 2

37m


E807

Why reviews lost their sting - and what matters more, the song or the record?

Sep. 1

41m


E806

Debsey Wykes of Dolly Mixture wants you to read her teenage diary

Aug. 27

37m


E805

Singers’ vast egos explained and what’s the real definition of ‘a fan’?

Aug. 24

36m


E804

Neil Hannon - the Divine Comedy, the Father Ted saga & nights at the Indie Disco

Aug. 22

29m


E803

Tanita Tikaram - from ‘girl with guitar in bedroom’ to Hammersmith Odeon in six months

Aug. 20

33m


E802

Bob Mould remembers Hüsker Dü, Sugar & that guy with the hipster moustache

Aug. 19

33m


E801

Comedy records, TV gold & have Oasis and Coldplay hoovered up all the cash?

Aug. 17

1h 1m


E800

Brian Protheroe on the eternal life of his 1974 hit “Pinball”

Aug. 15

33m


E799

Terry Reid, the man who really invented Led Zeppelin, & guitar fetishism

Aug. 11

46m


E798

Peter Ames Carlin on the record that made Bruce Springsteen

Aug. 7

42m


E797

Jah Wobble - 40 hilarious unedited minutes interrupted by a pest control officer

Aug. 7

39m


E796

Elvis, the Colonel & how unseen letters changed Peter Guralnick’s view of their partnership

Aug. 4

52m


E795

Are the Nineties the new Classic Rock? And whatever happened to comedy records?

Aug. 3

36m


E794

The Wedding Present turns 40, memories of John Peel & ‘the only time I ever pogo-ed’

Aug. 3

33m


E793

Bret McKenzie on Flight of the Conchords, Hollywood and writing songs for frogs and unicorns

Jul. 29

47m


E792

Del Amitri’s Justin Currie has faced every tough crowd imaginable. Lessons were learn

Jul. 29

45m


E791

Ozzy Osbourne, Jaws, the lost world of mix tapes & the movies’ most chilling moment

Jul. 28

57m


E790

The late Nick Drake’s manager on the nine-year project “The Making Of Five Leaves Left”

Jul. 26

30m


E789

Suzi Quatro - how Dad, Elvis and Mickie Most transformed my life

Jul. 22

23m


E788

New Nick Drake tapes, Bob Marley’s masterpiece and the Coldplay ‘kiss-cam’.

Jul. 21

1h 1m


E787

The story of David Ackles, who never recovered from putting out “the best album ever made”.

Jul. 17

27m