Why George Michael’s life is a movie plus Syd, Kirsty, Gorillaz & the worst album title ever

Why George Michael’s life is a movie plus Syd, Kirsty, Gorillaz & the worst album title ever

Author: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold June 22, 2026 Duration: 58:09

Digging deep in the icebox of news to choose the following lightly chilled refreshments …

 

… 500 Miles, Wonderwall, Yes Sir I Can Boogie(?): what does it take to be a football anthem?

 

… Gorillaz brilliant reinvention of the “guest appearance”

 

… Jerry Dammers' father was the Dean of Bristol Cathedral? Siouxsie’s dad milked venom from snakes?

 

… Rod Stewart’s “laryngitis”- aka being on a private jet to watch Scotland play in Boston!

 

… how they’re celebrating Syd Barrett’s 80th

 

… the godawfullest album title in the entire history of popular music

 

… England 2 Colombia 0: Kirsty MacColl’s immaculate sense of melancholy

 

… Faux Fighters, Proxy Music, By Jovi: tribute bands aren’t lesser versions of the band you like but great versions of the songs you like

 

… the worst Boz Scaggs gig followed by the best

 

… teen fizz to chin-stroking introspection: the link between George Michael and the Beach Boys

 

… “Londoners like to feel they’re impossible to impress”

 

… plus 500 Hartlepool fans dressed as Smurfs and birthday guest Blaine Allan.

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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


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
Podcast Episodes
Kevin Rowland, the new Dexys and what he's learnt from life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:42
We first saw Kevin in ‘77 wearing jodhpurs onstage with his art-punk band the Killjoys! He’s formed a new version of Dexys, made an album, starts a tour in October, and looks back here at central moments in his life, som…
David Gray’s priceless memories of lessons learned the hard way [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:07
David Gray went through the roof with his White Ladder album in 2000 and he’s toured and recorded ever since, ending this summer’s loop at Latitude. He talks to us here about the rigours of seeing bands when you lived in…
Peter Frampton – ‘the Face of 1968’ looks back! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:16
Peter Frampton, for goodness sake! Part of our lives at Word In Your Ear since we were teenagers. Played guitar on national telly when he was 14. Joined the Herd at 16 and Humble Pie two years later. Had the biggest-sell…
Paul Simon’s Graceland and how the masterpiece was made [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:18
‘Graceland’ was an almighty gamble for Paul Simon, a costly, high-risk departure from the music he’d been making and a complex international venture. And a game-changing, worldwide triumph. When Ashley Kahn taught a cour…
Kate Mossman has strong feelings about rock stars past their prime [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:57
Kate’s an old pal of ours from Word magazine who writes scintillating columns and profiles for the New Statesman and Observer. We loved her book ‘Men Of A Certain Age: My Encounters With Rock Royalty’ – just out in paper…