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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


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
Kate Mossman has strong feelings about rock stars past their prime [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:57
Kate’s an old pal of ours from Word magazine who writes scintillating columns and profiles for the New Statesman and Observer. We loved her book ‘Men Of A Certain Age: My Encounters With Rock Royalty’ – just out in paper…
Brian Epstein & the Beatles - what he did and what he hid [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:47
Philip Norman has written books about the Beatles – and John, Paul and George - and now turns the spotlight on the man who launched them and the extreme personal and professional obstacles in the dramatic path of his sho…
The glorious story of Funk from James Brown to Off The Wall [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:54
Old friend of the podcast Lloyd Bradley wrote Bass Culture, the defining account of reggae, and he’s now turned his attention to funk, from its deepest roots and via the jazz, arts, TV, radio and pop culture that flavour…