Great rock feuds of Manchester, TV comedy & the man who invented the pop song

Great rock feuds of Manchester, TV comedy & the man who invented the pop song

Author: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold July 5, 2026 Duration: 50:17

This week’s penalty shoot-out of news sorts the surefire hits from the over-the-bar misses. That final score again … 


… what Morrissey’s only gone and done now 


… when your logo’s worth than your songs 


… Taylor Swift’s wedding and how Sly Stone got there first 


… do musicians care about awards?


… Divine Comedy, Jonathan Richman, Fountains of Wayne, Zappa: why are ‘humorous’ records so divisive?


… happy 200th birthday Stephen Foster, the man who invented the pop song!


… and cover versions of his songs you’ll know - Hard Times Come Again No More (Dylan, Springsteen, Emmylou Harris), Beautiful Dreamer (the Beatles), My Old Kentucky Home (Randy Newman), Oh Susannah (James Taylor), Camptown Races and many more 


… why comic actors are funnier on TV than in films 


… the delicious melancholy of songs about going home 


… when did musicians ‘go pro’? Did the Clash or the Faces consider themselves ‘professionals’?


… Oasis, New Order, the Hollies, Herman’s Hermits, Corrie, Man City/Man U, the Smiths: why is Manchester Feud Central? 


… plus Margot, Jerry & the take-away curry, and birthday guest Guy Constant.

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
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