Are we nearing Beatles Overload? plus the rock star with the most children (41!)

Are we nearing Beatles Overload? plus the rock star with the most children (41!)

Author: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold June 8, 2026 Duration: 48:58

When the pedalo of perusal cruised the lagoon of news this week, it paused to inspect the following ...

 

… the particular magic of the late-night DJ

 

… a Get Well card to dear Bob Harris

 

… is Global Beatles Day a bridge too far?

 

… the exquisite Britishness of the Manics, the Fall and the Small Faces

 

… Cyprus Avenue, Soho, Asbury Park … the best places to visit to help you understand an artist who lived there

 

… how T.Rex and Roxy Music were “too fancy” for America

 

… Jagger, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Johann Sebastian Bach? Musicians with the most children

 

… All You Need Is Love – work of genius or “ropey old doggerel”? 

 

Plus birthday guest Paul Thompson, Foghat and watching the One World global-cast on a black and white telly.

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


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There’s a particular kind of conversation about music that happens between friends who’ve spent a lifetime immersed in it-not as distant critics, but as participants in the culture. That’s the atmosphere you’ll find in Word In Your Ear, a podcast from Mark Ellen, David Hepworth, and Alex Gold. With a collective eighty years of writing and broadcasting for titles like Smash Hits and Mojo, and shows from "The Old Grey Whistle Test" to VH-1, they don’t just recount history; they unpack the stories behind it with the ease of a shared laugh. This podcast grew naturally from their work on the late, great magazine The Word, where they began recording over thirteen years ago, building a dedicated following who found something genuinely special in the mix. Each episode weaves together music, commentary, history, and interviews, moving seamlessly from deep-dive analysis of a seminal album to a frank chat with a surprising guest, all delivered with the warmth and wit of a late-night chat. It feels less like a formal show and more like you’ve been invited to pull up a chair in a room where the anecdotes are plentiful and the expertise is worn lightly. The result is a consistently engaging listen that treats music not as a museum piece but as a living, breathing part of our lives.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Word In Your Ear
Podcast Episodes
How Kylie became the whole world’s sweetheart [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:52
Michael Cragg’s devotion to all things Kylie once led him to Melbourne in search of the actual carousel horse she rode in a pop video. He got a tattoo a day later. Can’t Get You Out Of My Head is a funny and fondly detai…
Sandy Denny’s life and luminous talent celebrated by Linda Thompson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:32
‘Sandy Denny: A People’s History’ has just been published, memories from fellow musicians, old friends, producers, writers, fans and admirers. Linda Thompson met her when they were both 16 and was devoted to her ‘til she…
The Abbey Road photo miracle, Glen Hansard and TV we’d pay to watch [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:03
The news slapped on the conversational barbecue and served with a side of old hokum. This week’s mixed grill includes … … our favourite story in the whole of popular music! … Lisa Marie Presley & Michael Jackson, Neil Yo…
Bowie, the Cure, Neil Young and the golden age of the video shoot [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:00
Tim Pope caught the video wave in 1981 and made hundreds of promotional clips, often three or four a week, edited at night and on-air days later. You’ll have seen them, singles for the Style Council, The The, Iggy Pop, H…
Pauline Black of the Selecter, the girl who invented the Rude Girl [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:19
Pauline Black was seen singing Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell songs in Coventry folk clubs and recruited by a local reggae band. Then converted to ska and joined the Selecter - back on tour this summer and with a box-se…