Nick Lowe’s miracle payday, Rock feuds and a giant inflatable Jarvis

Nick Lowe’s miracle payday, Rock feuds and a giant inflatable Jarvis

Author: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold May 25, 2026 Duration: 50:35

Panning for gold in the murky waters of this week’s news, we found the following …

 

… is Sabrina Carpenter’s aunt the voice of Bart Simpson?

 

… is punk now just a small room in the giant apartment block of Goth?

 

… why band life was different for Ringo, Kathy Valentine and Clem Burke

 

… Barack Obama’s songs that define America and how you can’t do the same for Britain

 

… what you notice about the Who’s ‘Tommy’ 47 years later

 

… the night Tom Fogerty’s widow brought his ashes to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

 

… Hurrrggggh! Aah-haaaa!: the vocal trademarks of Clarence Carter, Bob Wills, James Brown and Bobby Bland

 

… did Select magazine REALLY once give away a giant inflatable Jarvis? (spoiler: yes)

 

… plus Shleep and Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt and Sam Cooke humming.

 

Sam Cooke humming:

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&channel=entpr&q=sam+cooke+thumming+youtube+#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:7e9fec7d,vid:ZYd8DFI5CJg,st:0


Order copies of David Hepworth's new paperback 'Hope I Get Old Before I Die' here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hope-Get-Old-Before-Die/dp/1804991996


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

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: 100

Word In Your Ear
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