Sid Griffin (#1): the Long Ryders leader laughs at the absurdity of teenage life!

Sid Griffin (#1): the Long Ryders leader laughs at the absurdity of teenage life!

Author: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold September 18, 2026 Duration: 37:09

A whole new format we’ve invented for people who’ve been guests before and were so entertaining we wanted them back. So we’ve devised some random questions to spark a few memories and revelations. First up, Sid Griffin of the Long Ryders, touring the UK this autumn, who looks back here at his early life before he “went to L.A. to quote-unquote make it”. You’ll love this as much as we did, especially …

 

… the Beatles song he knew he’d understand when he was older

 

… his teenage band rehearsal when the drummer got a hammer in his head

 

… the rock star he always wanted to be

 

… what happens when you wear the bug-infested cap you find on a bus

 

… DJ Carl ‘Weird Beard’ Markert burping in Pepsi commercials on WAKY Radio

 

… Gregg Turner and the Angry Samoans – “bad songs in bad taste”

 

… things he can still recite from childhood

 

… the best use of music in a movie

 

… how arch-rival Norrie Paramor made George Martin even richer

 

… and the greatest B-side ever written.

 

Plus English teacher Mrs Atlas and his deathless crush on Mimi Babcock.  

 

Long Ryders tickets here … thelongryders.com/tour

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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