43 min listen
E68: Paul Gorman on Malcolm McLaren + R.I.P. Bill Withers & Hal Wilner
FromRock's Backpages
ratings:
Length:
65 minutes
Released:
Apr 13, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
In this week's podcast – the second to be recorded remotely under the lockdown — Mark, Barney & Jasper are joined by special guest Paul Gorman to discuss his long and multi-faceted career — and his epic new biography of Malcolm McLaren. We also hear clips from the week's new audio interview: a 1989 conversation with "Malcy" himself, wherein the former Sex Pistols manager and professional provocateur voices his disdain for the music industry, his becoming an artist in his own right… and his despair at the passing of rock's pagan gods.Paul also pitches in with his thoughts on the late Bill Withers, joining his hosts in celebrating the life and work of a unique singer-songwriter – and the dignity of a man who came late to fame and chose to walk away from it without regret. After hearing a clip of Bill speaking in 2004, the makeshift gang of four pay tribute to two more victims of the coronavirus: John Prine, discussed at much greater length in Episode 62, and Hal Willner, maverick mastermind behind such unorthodox tribute albums as 1988's Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films.Finally, Mark talks us through his highlights of the week's new library load, including pieces on Nancy Sinatra and her walking 'Boots' (1966), Joel Selvin's Sid Vicious obituary (1979) and Annene Kaye interviewing the other Gang Of Four on a park bench in 1983. Jasper offers his tuppenceworth on a So Solid Crew profile from 2003 and a 2018 review of Prince's posthumous Piano and a Microphone album… and we say goodbye until the next time.Pieces discussed: Fanzines, Spice Girls, The Life and Times of Malcolm McLaren excerpt, Malcolm McLaren audio, 8-Bit Punk, Bill Withers audio, Bill Withers, John Prine, Hal Willner, Nancy Sinatra's Boots, Bill Graham, Sid Vicious, Gang of Four, Chet Baker, So Solid Crew and Prince's Piano & a Microphone 1983.Many thanks to special guest Paul Gorman; his new book The Life and Times of Malcolm McLaren is published by Constable. Visit his website at paulgormanis.com. The Rock's Backpages podcast is proud to be part of the Pantheon podcast network.
Released:
Apr 13, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
E7: Be-Bop Deluxe + Wu-Tang Clan + David Bowie: In this week's podcast, hear Be-Bop Deluxe's Bill Nelson reminiscing (in February 1978) with Ian Ravendale about starting bands in school and working on the Futurama album with Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker... followed by your hosts Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns discussing Staten Island hip hop collective the Wu-Tang Clan. Attention then turns to featured writer Tim Cooper and his Heathen-era interview with David Bowie. New library pieces under the spotlight include a 1962 letter to Record Mirror from Frank Sinatra fan Fred Dellar; Paul Morley's 1977 NME live review of Little Feat; the return of jazz giant Dexter Gordon; and an unsavoury encounter with the Prodigy. Produced by Jasper Murison-Bowie Pieces discussed: Be-Bop Deluxe audio, Wu-Tang Clan, Phantoms of the Hip-hopera, Ol' Dirty Bastard, David Bowie, Beach House, The Who's Quadrophenia, Frank Sinatra, Hank Ballard, The Who, Diana Ross, Little Feat, Dexter Gordon, Rickie Lee Ja by Rock's Backpages