Word In Your Ear
Mark Ellen and David Hepworth have been talking about and writing about music together and individually for a collective eighty years in magazines like Smash Hits, Mojo and The Word and on radio and TV programmes like "Rock On", "Whistle Test" and VH-1.
Over thirteen years ago, when working on the late magazine The Word, they began producing podcasts. Some listeners have been kind enough to say these have been very special to them. When the magazine folded in 2012 they kept the spirit of those podcasts alive in regular Word In Your Ear evenings in which they spoke to musicians and authors in front of an audience.
Over these years they've produced hundreds of hours of material. As of the Current Unpleasantness of 2020, they've produced yet hundreds of hours more with a little help from guests kind enough to digitally show them around their attics such as Danny Baker, Andy Partridge, Sir Tim Rice and Mark Lewisohn. For the full span of the Word In Your Ear world, visit wiyelondon.com.
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- Update frequency
- every 2 days
- Average duration
- 43 minutes
- Episodes
- 858
- Years Active
- 2007 - 2025
DJ Princess Diana
In this week's pod we explore whether Apple's new spatial audio is actually worth it, ponder urgent listener questions such as "is pop music all about cymbals?" and "should we be paying attention to …
Joni Mitchell's golden month remembered
This week's burning hot topics include .... the 50th birthday of Joni Mitchell's 'Blue’. Songs about the joy of spending "a bankroll big enough to choke a donkey". When Whistle Test went all Tomorrow…
Favourite critics and pop star stamps
In which we salute some much-loved writers (Clive James on Rod Stewart: "he was hopping about like a bifurcated marrow"), investigate the Friends Reunion, predict the next pop acts on postage stamps …
Bernie Marsden on the blues boom, "mailbox money", UFO and Whitesnake
Bernie's memoir - 'Where's My Guitar?' - is just out in paperback and this highly entertaining encounter with the old rock and roll trouper features his early bands (Clockwork Mousetrap, Skinny Cat),…
The Bob Dylan million dollar 80th birthday bash
In which three old lags who've been following Dylan most of their lives - David Hepworth, Sid Griffin and Mark Ellen - offload a passionate personal theory and fly the flag for a favourite track. As …
Richard Thompson on Fairport and Sandy Denny's "Gustav Mahler emotional see-saw"
In which the beloved entertainer talks about his memoir 'Beeswing: Fairport, Folk and Finding My Voice 1967-1975', a rich and circuitous ramble that features Jimmy Shand, Louis Armstrong, a school ba…
Burglary and bluebeat in a brilliant new Madness documentary
In which we look at the light-fingered early lives of Camden's Magnificent Seven and the soundtrack of the Pursuit of Love, note the collapse of the BRITs and the Oscars and tell the extraordinary ta…
Joel Selvin on "a sylvan moment in Hollywood history"
The great Joel Selvin has just published 'Hollywood Eden: Electric Guitars, Fast Cars and the Myth of the California Paradise', a thumping account of the West Coast pop revolution between 1958-1968 b…
Bob Marley RIP (who died 40 years ago on May 11)
In which we remember the Wailers' London shows and what made them unique, salute the fond but sceptical rock photographs of our old friend Ken Sharp, unravel the brilliant mechanics of Jerry Seinfeld…
Rickie Lee Jones promotes "thumping good read"!
Forty-two years after her meteoric ascent, Rickie Lee Jones has put out a memoir, 'Last Chance Texaco: Chronicles of a Troubadour'. And this we strongly recommend, a candid, salty, high-octane accoun…
Does every act have a gimmick?
In which we're joined by old pal Kate Mossman who's had a colourful encounter with Tom Jones, we look at the legal battle for Nirvana's logo and the bands who sell more t-shirts than records, we're c…
The eternal battles between Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf
In which we shake down the Bat Out Of Hell saga and Morrissey v the Simpsons, wonder what happened to the Bay City Rollers billions, explore Richard Thompson's theory of folk-rock snobbery, salute po…
On Jagger's ropey new single and what made the Stones a dance band
A world-put-to-rights-special that tells the story of the man who hid in a crate on a three-day flight with only a book of Beatles song lyrics for entertainment, looks at the stupidity of 19 year-old…
Tessa Norton and Bob Stanley on the folklore of the Fall
Tessa and Bob are lifelong Mark E Smith devotees and have just published 'Excavate: the Wonderful And Frightening World of The Fall', a collection of essays inspired by the band’s unique and eternall…
Original gangs that are still together
In which David delivers a tremulous rant about the curse of the two-minutes' silence at sport events, we note the Duke of Edinburgh's Beatles connection, rummage through the BBC's 'black box', salute…
What pop music will still be around in 200 years' time?
In which we applaud Paul Simon's light-fingered songwriting skills, delight in the fake Roxy Music rejection letter, trace the origins of rock's black uniform (which Keith Richards reckons has it roo…
"It ain’t 'alf been a gas this time!"
In which we play theatrical moments from great live albums - Humble Pie, ELP, the Stones, James Brown, Sinatra & Count Basie, Free, the Who, the Allman Brothers ("Whipping Post!") - relive the wit an…
A 1971 Special on Nick Drake and Led Zeppelin at the Nottingham Boat Club
In which we're joined by old pal Trevor Dann who was one of the 200 people sitting on the floor of the Nottingham Boat Club 50 years ago hearing the unreleased Stairway To Heaven ("maximum volume as …
The enduring magic of the mixtape
In which we relive the joys of cassette mixtape pop snobbery, discover a rock star's mum who was a WW2 secret agent, name the best songs about mothers, salute Tony "Ian Faith" Hendra RIP and his part…
The undignified history of the Ponytail In Rock
In which we salute Chris Barber and Bunny Wailer, listen to Robert Fripp's £80-a-pop personal message service, marvel at the Kings Of Leon's new crypto-currency, relive the agony of the Bob Harris vi…