Pop stars’ weddings and why Noel Gallagher’s right about World Cup music

Pop stars’ weddings and why Noel Gallagher’s right about World Cup music

Author: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold June 15, 2026 Duration: 52:08

Amid much parping of vuvuzelas, the week’s news stories sprint onto the pitch. And these make it to the quarter-finals …

 

… Dua Lipa’s mega-wedding and its echoes of Mick & Bianca

 

… when did publicity turn into “perpetual planetary attention”?

 

… Chris Martin “curating” the World Cup Final half-time show

 

… if you can’t stand the noise, move out of Soho!

 

… watching Rufus Wainwright do Judy Garland  

 

… when Madonna was troubled by helicopters

 

… JBs’s Dudley, Mr Pickwicks, the Band On The Wall: who imagined old rock venues would be celebrated by the V&A?

 

… “Keep music away from sport!”

 

… is Taylor Swift really getting married in Madison Square Garden?

 

… and the Nation Blue, the Green Falcons, the Golden Lilies: starry-eyed indie act or World Cup team nickname?

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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

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