How many bands can you name every member of?

How many bands can you name every member of?

Author: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold October 19, 2025 Duration: 48:30

This week’s news put through the wringer and hung out to dry. On the line you’ll find …

 

… Taylor Swift and Ophelia and other things pop videos turned into tourist attractions

 

… the appeal of D’Angelo’s Voodoo: “he made albums with no disdain for the listener”

 

…. David Hepworth and “the single most exciting thing that ever happened to me in my entire life”

 

… bands whose story means more than their music

 

… Nick Drake, Hendrix, Portishead, Nirvana: why three albums is the perfect back catalogue

 

… when Morrissey was just “Steve from Stretford” and Bowie “some bloke in Beckenham”

 

… Elvis Costello, the Nashville Rooms and how Mark escaped being “killed to bits”

 

… is there a better sign of obsession than being able to name all a band’s members?

 

… Your challenge: listen to the Dead’s Dark Star for the first time. Discuss!

 

… esoteric tracks played by mobile coffee vans

 

… “Gor Blimey, hello Mrs Jones. How’s old Bert’s lumbago?”

 

 … plus JJ Cale, Canned Heat, Cameron Crowe and Fred Neil’s The Dolphins.


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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: 100

Word In Your Ear
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