Rock's Backpages
Mark Pringle, Barney Hoskyns, Jasper Murison-Bowie
Subscribe
They were so much older then, they're younger than that now: Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns reel in the years and riff on all that's new this week in the world's biggest library of music journalism — definitive interviews with legends of the last 60 years by the pop press' greatest writers ... and much much more. The RBP podcast is produced by Jasper Murison-Bowie and is a proud part of Pantheon — the podcast network for music lovers.
Episode results
Rock's Backpages
May 8, 2023
E151: Sylvia Patterson on Smash Hits + George Michael audio
In this episode, we welcome the excellent Sylvia Patterson to RBP’s Hammersmith HQ and ask her all about her life as a music journalist from Smash Hits to the NME and beyond, referencing her excellent memoirs I’m Not With the Band and Same Old Girl.
We begin with her start in writing at Dundee publisher D.C. Thomson, including as music editor for the short-lived Etcetera, which led to her applying for a staff job at irreverent pop paper Smash Hits. Sylvia reminisces about what it was like working on a magazine that never took the business of popular music too seriously, reflecting that the lack of a cynical ulterior agenda engendered a fun atmosphere for both the writers and (most of) the musicians.
Touching on Sylvia’s 1987 interview with newly inducted Rock Hall of Famer George Michael, whom she dubbed "the glummest man in pop", we hear clips from an Adam Sweeting audio interview conducted on the same day. The man born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou cut a serious figure at the time, contemplating his relationship with the press and the nature of political gestures from pop stars as well as rebuffing "rumours" that he’s gay after Boy George has outed him on the radio.
Moving on to the 90s and beyond, at which point Sylvia became a freelancer for publications including The Face and the NME, we talk about her experience interviewing The Artist Formerly Known as Prince before discussing the chaos of the Britpop era. Defending her chosen side in the Oasis vs Blur debate, she recounts the hilarity of speaking with the Gallagher brothers in 2001.
To bring Sylvia’s story up to date, we ask her about her new memoir Same Old Girl, published in April, about her diagnosis in late 2019 with breast cancer and the treatment amidst a global pandemic that followed.
We then spotlight three articles on Donna Summer ahead of a new documentary directed by her daughter and pay tribute to recently departed Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Finally, Mark and Jasper quote from a few new additions to the RBP library including interviews with Jet Harris and Chris Cornell and a profile of Christian Scott/Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah.
Many thanks to special guest Sylvia Patterson. Same Old Girl is published by Fleet and available now.
Pieces discussed: George Michael: The Glummest Man in Pop?, George Michael audio, Prince, Oasis, Blur, Donna Summer, Donna Summerer, Giorgio Moroder, Gordon Lightfoot, Jet Harris, Soundgarden, Smokey Robinson, Morrissey, Secret Affair and Christian Scott/Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah.
playlist_add
Rock's Backpages
May 22, 2023
E152: Cliff Jones on Gay Dad + Brian Jones + Paul Simon audio
In this episode we welcome pop poacher-turned-gamekeeper (turned rockademic) Cliff Jones to RBP's Hammersmith HQ and invite him to talk about his shape-shifting career in music — as well as about Paul Simon and doomed Rolling Stone Brian Jones (no relation).
Barney starts things off with his memories of Cliff coming into the MOJO office circa 1994-5, plus we hear about long-form pieces our guest wrote about Peter Green and (for The Face) the Fugees. We also discuss Johnny Cigarettes' 1999 NME interview with Gay Dad, the band Cliff formed in the wake of Britpop.
Nick Broomfield's new BBC documentary about Brian Jones prompts conversation about the self-destructive blues obsessive who was sidelined by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards — and ditched by Anita Pallenberg — after which we turn our attention to the rather different Paul Simon. Clips from Tony Scherman's 1993 audio interview with the other half of Art Garfunkel are jumping-off points for our collective thoughts on the New Yorker's career from his Brill Building days to the Hearts and Bones album and beyond.
We pay heartfelt tribute to our guest's fellow RBP contributor Pete Silverton, who passed away on May 18th, and recall his crucial early Sounds interviews with the Clash, the Sex Pistols and other punk bands. Among the new library additions discussed, finally, are pieces about Flamingo Club owner Rik Gunnell (1966), Mick Hucknall's Frantic Elevators (1982), hip hop heroes the Jungle Brothers (1989) ... and, from 2007, Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse.
Please note this episode was recorded before we learned of the passing of former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke.
Pieces discussed: Talk Talk talk tech, The Fugees, Gay Dad, Brian Jones by Dawn James, Brian Jones by Greil Marcus, Brian Jones by Carol Clerk, Paul Simon audio, Hearts and Bones, Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious, Rik Gunnell, Average White Band, Danielle Dax, The Jungle Brothers, Frantic Elevators, Dave Matthews, Erykah Badu and Lily Allen/Amy Winehouse.
playlist_add
Rock's Backpages
Apr 24, 2023
E150: Edwin Pouncey & Sandy Robertson on rock and the occult + Andrew Lauder
In this episode we welcome Sounds legends Sandy Robertson and Edwin (Savage Pencil) Pouncey into our Hammersmith lair and ask them about their careers and shared fascination with the occult.
After describing their routes into writing and their days at Sounds, Sandy and Edwin reflect on the dark history of occult rock from Black Widow to Norway's Black Metal scene, via Jimmy Page, Kenneth Anger and Aleister "the Beast" Crowley.
Clips from the late Andy Gill's 1990 audio interview with Liberty/United Artists executive Andrew Lauder give us an opportunity to honour the Hartlepool-born facilitator of musical freakiness and discuss the many acts he signed and/or A&R'd over the course of 50 years, from Hawkwind and the Groundhogs to the Stranglers and the Stone Roses.
After saying our goodbyes to reggae sound-system operator Jah Shaka and small-trio jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, Mark and Jasper run through their highlights among recent additions to the RBP library, including pieces about Nancy Sinatra (1967), the Eagles (1972) and Kim Deal and Tanya Donnelly (1993)... and a 2011 tribute to hip hop star Dwight "Heavy D" Myers.
Many thanks to special guests Edwin Pouncey and Sandy Robertson. Find their books, including Edwin's Savage Pencil Scratchbook and Sandy's Aleister Crowley Scrapbook, in all good bookshops.
Please note that we recorded this episode before learning of Mark Stewart’s death.
Pieces discussed: Mister Aleister Crowley, The Primer: Occult rock, David Bowie: White Lines, Black Magic, Andrew Lauder audio, Sound Systems & Jah Shaka, Ahmad Jamal, April Stevens, The Eagles, Shaun Cassidy, Nancy Sinatra, Kim Deal & Tanya Donnelly and Why Heavy D Matters.
playlist_add
View more
Pantheon - Home for Music Lovers
May 18, 2023
My Rock Moment: Americana Music in the 60s and 70s and Rock's Backpages with Music Journalist Barney Hoskyns
Barney Hoskyns is a celebrated author and rock journalist. He started his career in the early 80s at Melody Maker and then New Musical Express, eventually leaving NME to write his first book, Say It One Time For The Brokenhearted, about the collision of soul and country music in the South. He went on to write more than fifteen books on musicians and music history, including, Waiting for the Sun: A Rock ‘N’ Roll History of Los Angeles and Hotel California He’s also the co-founder and editorial director of the online music journalism archive Rock's Backpages, as well as host of a podcast of the same name.
In this episode, we discuss his time living in LA and Woodstock, NY and how immersing himself in those two very divergent scenes inspired the books Waiting for the Sun, Hotel California as well as Small Town Talk. From Marc Bolan to The Band, Barney shares his early influences and how his love of all things Americana began. And we’ll hear about some of his memorable interview…
playlist_add
The Music Biz Weekly
Feb 20, 2022
508 Rock’s Backpages - Over 45,000 Classic Articles on Artists from Aaliyah to ZZ Top
Visit http://www.MichaelBrandvold.com.
Barney Hoskyns Editorial Director at Rock’s Backpages joins this week. Rock’s Backpages is over 45,000 classic articles on artists from Aaliyah to ZZ Top by the finest music writers of the last 60 years. Barney, a writer and editor for over 30 years, RBP co-founder Hoskyns is also the author of many books, including Hotel California: Singer-Songwriters and Cocaine Cowboys in the LA Canyons, the Tom Waits biography Lowside of the Road, Trampled Under Foot, an oral history of Led Zeppelin, and Small Town Talk, a history of the music scene in Woodstock and Bearsville. A former U.S. correspondent for MOJO, Hoskyns has contributed to Vogue, GQ, Rolling Stone, Spin, Harper's Bazaar, Uncut and many other titles.
Visit www.RocksBackpages.com
Download Jay Gilbert’s Release Planner. - https://bit.ly/39EDAyD
Download Michael Brandvold Release Checklists. - https://bit.ly/3ue9X0m
Our Sponsors:
• Get free shipping on CD orders of 100+ from DiscMake…
playlist_add
Show results