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
Kevin Rowland, the new Dexys and what he's learnt from life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:42
We first saw Kevin in ‘77 wearing jodhpurs onstage with his art-punk band the Killjoys! He’s formed a new version of Dexys, made an album, starts a tour in October, and looks back here at central moments in his life, som…
David Gray’s priceless memories of lessons learned the hard way [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:07
David Gray went through the roof with his White Ladder album in 2000 and he’s toured and recorded ever since, ending this summer’s loop at Latitude. He talks to us here about the rigours of seeing bands when you lived in…
Peter Frampton – ‘the Face of 1968’ looks back! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:16
Peter Frampton, for goodness sake! Part of our lives at Word In Your Ear since we were teenagers. Played guitar on national telly when he was 14. Joined the Herd at 16 and Humble Pie two years later. Had the biggest-sell…
Paul Simon’s Graceland and how the masterpiece was made [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:18
‘Graceland’ was an almighty gamble for Paul Simon, a costly, high-risk departure from the music he’d been making and a complex international venture. And a game-changing, worldwide triumph. When Ashley Kahn taught a cour…