We ask Lloyd Bradley about his career as a journalist and as the author of Bass Culture and Sounds Like London

Cliff Jones joins us to talk about his shape-shifting career in music, plus Paul Simon and Brian Jones

We ask Sylvia Patterson all about a writer's life lost in music from Smash Hits to the NME and beyond

Sandy Robertson and Edwin (Savage Pencil) Pouncey join us to talk about their careers and shared fascination with the occult

Author and Guardian journalist Andy Beckett joins us to discuss politics and pop from the late '70s to the present day

We welcome music-industry legend Rob Dickins to tell us about his pop life at Warner Bros.

Ellen Sander joins us to discuss her classic 1973 book Trips: Rock Life in the Sixties

The exemplary Fred Goodman joins us to talk about music movies

The excellent Gary Kemp joins us at RBP's Hammersmith HQ to talk about Spandau Ballet, the New Romantics and Pink Floyd

The truly legendary Pamela Des Barres reminisces about the all-girl GTOs, Frank Zappa, Lowell George and more

In this episode we welcome bestselling author and screenwriter Nick Hornby to RBP's Hammersmith HQ and ask him to talk about his new book Dickens & Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius. We start by asking Nick if his original plan was to become a music journalist, then proceed to his first awareness of Prince in 1979. A broad discussion of the Minneapolitan marvel – and the parallels with Charles Dickens's "no off-switch" prolificacy – takes in his first London show in 1981, his mastering of multiple overlapping genres, his (and Dickens's) "weakness for women"... and the profound shock of his death in 2016. The imminent reissue of Boz Scaggs's 1969 debut album provides the opportunity to hear clips from the late Andy Gill's 1997 audio interview with the blues-soul smoothie. Among other things, Nick, Barney and Jasper touch on Muscle Shoals, Silk Degrees and Boz's spine-tingling version of Richard Hawley's 'There's a Storm Comin''. After Jasper offers his thoughts on newly-added library pieces about the Human League (2000) and British hip hop (2007), we indulge in a brief chat with the Fever Pitch author about football's World Cup, which at the time of recording had reached the semi-final stage. Find out who Nick wanted to win... Many thanks to special guest Nick Hornby. Dickens & Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius is published by Penguin and available now. Note that this episode was recorded on December 14th, four days before the sad news came through that we'd lost Specials/Fun Boy Three star Terry Hall.

In this episode we welcome writer, curator and consultant Paul Gorman and ask him about his new book Totally Wired: The Rise and Fall of the Music Press. In a loose and free-ranging conversation, our guest reflects on various eras and aspects of all that Rock's Backpages is about, from the launch of Melody Maker almost 100 years ago to the online ecosystem of Instagram and Tik Tok in the present day. Along the way we cover everything from Crawdaddy! to Smash Hits via marginalised women writers and feuds between musicians and journalists. (Listen out for the unsettling sound of Nick Cave describing his new "hate" song 'Scum' to interviewer Mat Snow.) We also hear clips from Frank Broughton's 1998 audio interview with Time Out's late founder Tony Elliott. By way of paying tribute to the late Christine McVie, there are further audio clips in the episode, this time from John Pidgeon's 1977 interview with Fleetwood Mac, plus we bid a sad farewell to Stax Records co-founder Jim Stewart. Mark selects his highlights from recent additions to the RBP library, quoting from pieces about Marianne Faithfull, Ravi Shankar, Alexis Korner and the mighty Pat Benatar, after which Jasper concludes matters with remarks on articles about Odd Future and the brilliant Billie Eilish. Many thanks to special guest Paul Gorman; Totally Wired is published by Thames & Hudson and available now from all good bookshops. Visit Paul's website at paulgormanis.com and follow him on Instagram at _paul_gorman_.

In this episode we invite esteemed author RJ Smith to tell us about his career, his adopted Los Angeles, and his new biography of Chuck Berry. We start in Detroit, where RJ was raised on a diet of AM radio, the Stooges and Creem magazine, then follow him to New York and his decade of writing for the Village Voice. He talks about the impact of Lester Bangs and Robert Christgau before explaining why he followed the Voice's executive editor Kit Rachlis to California and the L.A. Weekly. We hear how he became fascinated by the pre-rock history of African-American L.A. and how that led to the publication of The Great Black Way (2008). His fourth book, Chuck Berry: An American Life, gives us the opportunity to discuss the problematic brilliance of St. Louis's "Black bard of white teen angst", a half-century after the creepy novelty comedy of 'My Ding-a-Ling' gave the Black-rock pioneer a No. 1 hit on both sides of the Atlantic. We return to our L.A. theme to hear clips from a 1991 audio interview in which Tracy "Ice-T" Marrow talks to Andy Gill about the birth of gangsta rap and his thrash-metal side project Body Count. RJ recalls his own writing about West Coast hip hop before we say a sad goodbye to the great Wilko Johnson and hear the-then Dr. Feelgood guitarist speaking to Mick Gold in 1975. Mark quotes from some of the pieces he's added to the RBP library, including interviews with Long John Baldry and Olivia Newton-John, after which Jasper wraps matters up with remarks on articles about Deadmau5 and Asian Dub Foundation.

In the new episode of the Rock's Backpages podcast, we welcome the splendid Holly Gleason, all the way from downtown Nashville, and invite her to tell us about her life as a country music writer and publicist. Holly explains how, as a teenage championship golfer, she first became enamoured of country in her native state of Ohio, later writing about it (as well as about rap and R&B) for the Miami Herald. Tying in the episode's main theme with Woman Walk the Line – the wonderful essay collection she assembled and edited in 2017 – Holly's hosts ask her about her favourite female artists from Emmylou Harris to Taylor Swift. Along the way she gives us the inside lowdown on "Music City" – having just attended 2022's CMA Awards – and talks fascinatingly about Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus. The week's new audio interview, with the late great Guy Clark, gives us a chance to discuss that unpigeonholeable singer-songwriter, his complicated friendship with Townes Van Zandt, and his influence on disciples such as Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell. Two clips from John Tobler's 1986 interview with Guy prompt tearful memories of Holly's friendship with the Texan troubadour. After we've said our own sad goodbyes to Melody Maker mainstay Colin Irwin, Low's Mimi Parker and Nazareth frontman Dan McCafferty, Mark and Jasper talk us out with their favourite new additions to the RBP library including interviews with Patti Smith and Little Simz.

In this episode we welcome the legendary Billy James, all the way from the Bay Area, and tap him for his memories of working with Bob Dylan, the Doors and more. We start with Dylan and the interview the young Minnesotan gave to Billy in October 1961 in the latter's capacity as a Columbia Records publicist. Billy reminisces about his early interactions with the kid born Zimmerman; we hear a snatch of that 1961 audio, plus two clips from Eric Von Schmidt talking to Larry Jaffee about his friendship with Bob in that same period. In passing, we mention two great Dylan pieces by the week's featured scribe Greil Marcus, author of a new Bob "biography in seven songs" entitled Folk Music. From the early Bob years we switch coasts to California, where Billy worked in Columbia's Hollywood office and fell in with the Byrds between arranging press conferences for Patti Page, Percy Faith and his beloved Tony Bennett (pictured in the photo Billy is holding above). Finally, he talks about Terry Melcher, Elektra Records, the Doors, and the significant part he played in putting Laurel Canyon on L.A.'s pop map after moving up there from Beverly Hills in 1965...

In this episode we welcome the delightful Kid Congo Powers, all the way from his home in Tucson, and ask him to talk about his former lives in the Gun Club, the Cramps and the Bad Seeds — as detailed in the riveting new memoir Some New Kind of Kick. The man born Brian Tristan looks back to his teen fanboy years from Frank Zappa to the New York Dolls, plus his memories of the L.A. glitter scene at Rodney's English Disco. He describes how it felt — as a gay Mexican American — to be a misfit among mainly white misfits on the punk scenes in L.A. and New York. He also explains how the Gun Club was conceived after he met Jeffrey Lee Pierce while queuing for a 1979 Pere Ubu show at the Whisky. We hear how Kid was then headhunted by the Cramps' Lux and Ivy, and what it was like to be part of their ghoulish B-movie aesthetic. We similarly learn how he was recruited (and "cast") as one of Nick Cave's drug-addled Bad Seeds in mid-'80s Berlin. From the decline and premature death of Jeffrey Lee Pierce — via Kid's own eventual long-term sobriety — we shift into the rarefied and erudite world of Brian Eno, an iconic glam influence on the young Brian Tristan. Clips from Mark Sinker's 1992 audio interview with pop's resident egghead are heard, leading in turn to discussion of Eno's collaborations with Robert Fripp and Toby Amies' remarkable new King Crimson documentary. Mark talks us through pieces about the Stones' 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' (1968), classic-blues septuagenarian Victoria Spivey (1975), the Police (1979) and Joe Bataan & Arthur Baker (1996) after which Jasper concludes the episode with quotes from pieces on bodyguard-to-the-stars Michael Francis (2003) and the "rise and rise" of Pharrell Williams (2015).

In this episode we welcome the dynamic transatlantic duo of Luke Haines & Peter Buck and invite them to discuss their splendidly-titled new album All the Kids are Super Bummed-Out. Luke and Peter reflect on their musical partnership, working methodology, and relationships with music journalists — sometimes fractious, occasionally fruitful. Peter recalls growing up as a New York Dolls fan in the Allman Brothers country of his native Georgia, then listens to 1992 audio of himself and bandmate Mike Mills telling Ira Robbins about R.E.M.'s rise and decision not to tour the imminent Automatic for the People. Luke then reflects on his early preference for Sounds (over NME and Melody Maker) and the postpunk writing of the late Dave McCullough. Mark & Jasper pay fulsome tribute to the departed Pharoah Sanders, with both guests pitching in on the music of the intrepid jazz man — and we also bid farewell to 'Gangsta's Paradise' rapper Coolio. Marks then talks us through his highlights among the latest articles added to the RBP library, including pieces about the Beatles in America (1964), Otis Redding at the Whisky (1966) and Leon Russell at the Royal Albert Hall (1971) — the greatest gig he ever saw, he claims — and Jasper wraps matters up with quotes from articles about Harry Styles (2017) and Rose Royce (2021)... Many thanks to special guests Luke Haines and Peter Buck; their new album All The Kids Are Super Bummed Out is out October 28th on Cherry Red.

In this episode we welcome the great Richard Goldstein and invite him to relive his days as the Village Voice's "Pop Eye" columnist in the '60s — and his heady experiences in New York and California in that tumultuous decade. Richard takes us back to his Bronx youth and the early discovery of writers such as Joyce, Dostoyevsky and Voice co-founder Norman Mailer. He also recalls his subsequent exposure to Tom Wolfe and Susan Sontag — both of whom he knew — and explains their influence on his very personal writing style. The second piece he ever wrote for the Voice gives us the chance to discuss that most outré of '60s girl groups, the fabulous Shangri-Las, and to hear clips from Tony Scherman's 1993 audio interview with the trio's mentor-producer George "Shadow" Morton. From the "Las" we turn our attention to the Byrds and the dawning "rock" revolution Richard chronicled so adroitly. We also discuss his immersion in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury scene — plus the attraction to hippie heroes such as Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir that indirectly led to his coming-out and to his militant fight for gay rights as he subsequently rose to the position of Executive Editor at the Voice. Notwithstanding his marvellous 2015 memoir Another Little Piece of My Heart — frequently cited in this episode — Richard poignantly explains how the deaths of Janis Joplin and others made it almost impossible to write any longer about music. Many thanks to special guest Richard Goldstein; find him at richardgoldsteinonline.com and buy his books, including Another Little Piece of My Heart, at any good bookshop.

In this episode we welcome legendary Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and invite him to reminisce about key moments in his career at the helm of one of the UK's great independent labels. Chris describes his youth in Jamaica, his early exposure to Kingston's sound systems, and his move back to England in 1962. From Millie's 1964 smash 'My Boy Lollipop' to Island's expansion from ska and blue beat into rock and folk, the Harrow-educated mogul reflects on the vital importance of artists such as Steve Winwood, Free, John Martyn and of course the Wailers, the band that made roots reggae a global phenomenon. Clips from a 1988 audio interview with Bunny Wailer prompt reflections on the "Blackheart Man" and his role within the group. A discussion of the Compass Point studio Chris built in the Bahamas takes us to the Island reinvention of Grace Jones and the stunning early '80s albums she made there with the immortal rhythm section of Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare. References to the week's featured writer Rob Partridge — Island's head of press from 1977 to 1991 — leads to recall of the label's biggest act, U2, and the eventual sale of Island to Polygram... not forgetting Chris' signing of the singular Tom Waits in 1983. Many thanks to special guest Chris Blackwell, whose autobiography The Islander is published by Nine Eight Books and available now.

In this episode we invite former Creem editor and Newsday critic Wayne Robins to reminisce about his journalistic journey from the Berkeley Barb to NYU's graduate school of journalism — and to hold forth on his (and our) beloved Steely Dan. Wayne recalls the suburban East Coast childhood he had in common with the Dan's Donald Fagen — and the music that set them both free from it. Jumping forward to 1969, he describes the Rolling Stones show he saw in Oakland a month before Altamont. He also paints a vivid and amusing picture of Bard College, the upstate New York institution he attended at the same time as Fagen and Dan co-founder Walter Becker. Clips from RBP audio interviews with the duo and original Dan member Denny Dias accompany an in-depth discussion of every rock egghead's favourite group, not to mention Fagen's 40-year-old solo album The Nightfly. The episode concludes with a swift survey of recent additions to the RBP library, including  pieces about Juliette Gréco (1961), James Booker (1976), Mark E. Smith (1990), Limp Bizkit (2000), Soul Train's Don Cornelius (2012), Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner (2017)… and the "atomic" Count Basie (2020).

In this episode, we invite Jason King to tell us about his multi-faceted career, from his Canadian upbringing to his chairmanship of Brooklyn's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. Along the way, Jason talks about his writing on LGBTQ icons from Sylvester and Luther Vandross to Queen's Freddie Mercury, of whom he is writing a major biography. Jason recalls writing for Vibe and the Village Voice in the Noughties, listens to clips from Bill Brewster's 2002 audio interview with Boy George and discusses the brilliant career of — and new album by — Beyoncé. After Jason and his co-hosts pay homage to revered Warner-Reprise chief Mo Ostin, Mark quotes from newly-added library pieces about John Lennon, the Jam, AC/DC and Primal Scream. Jasper rounds things off with remarks on a 1998 interview with Mo Ostin signing Prince, then known as "The Artist Formerly Known as..." Many thanks to special guest Jason King. Find him on Instagram and Twitter @jasonkingsays.

In this episode we welcome "gamekeeper-turned-poacher" Steven Daly, who Zooms in from his adopted Brooklyn to tell us about drumming in Orange Juice and his stellar writing career in America. Steven revisits his musical youth in '70s Glasgow and his first encounters with Edwyn Collins and Postcard's Alan Horne. He talks about the creative divergences within Orange Juice, his eventual move into writing for The Face and Edinburgh's Cut magazine, and the decision in the late '80s to base himself in New York. His hosts focus on three of his pieces, written over the course of 15 years for Spin, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, with Steven reminiscing about meeting Joni Mitchell and Sugar Hill matriarch Sylvia Robinson. Clips from Steven's May 1993 audio interview with Suede's Brett Anderson and Mat Osman provide a good excuse to discuss the emerging "Englishness" of post-grunge Britain and the abiding fantasy of UK bands "taking America". Staying Stateside, Jasper praises the week's featured artist Lizzo, with reference to pieces about the funk-pop star that stretch back to 2013. Mark then pays tribute to former Miles Davis bassist Michael Henderson, who died on July 19th, and talks us through his favourite library additions from the past fortnight — including pieces about Yoko Ono, Pink Floyd, Juan Atkins and the aforementioned Miles Davis. Barney mentions pieces about Canned Heat and World of Twist, while Jasper concludes the episode with his thoughts on D'Angelo and the great Black-owned record labels...

In this episode we welcome the very engaging Robert Gordon "all the way from" his hometown of Memphis and ask him to talk about the music of his city from Sun and Stax to Alex Chilton and Big Star. Robert tells us about his childhood, along with the blues epiphany that was watching Furry Lewis support the Rolling Stones on the Memphis leg of their 1975 U.S. tour. Moving on to Stax, we look back at a great 1988 interview Robert did with the Memphis Horns' Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson — and then forward to the Wattstax festival, staged in L.A. 50 years ago this summer. Clips from the week's new audio interview — Tony Scherman asking Billy Gibbons about Robert Johnson — afford us the perfect excuse not just to discuss ZZ Top and their imminent new album but to revisit our guest's exhaustive 1991 essay on the "plundering" of Delta blues legend Johnson's estate. Mark talks us through a selection of newly-added library pieces about Frankie Lymon, Alma Cogan, San Francisco's Trips festival, Syreeta, Gang of Four and Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy. In the absence of a vacationing Jasper, Barney wraps things up with quotes from articles about rock scribe R(ichard) Meltzer, the Specials and — circling back to Stax — Booker T. Jones recalling co-writing Albert King's brooding 'Born Under a Bad Sign' with William Bell... Many thanks to special guest Robert Gordon; the 25th anniversary edition of It Came From Memphis is published by Third Man Books and available now. Visit his website at therobertgordon.com.

In this episode we welcome dynamic duo Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton to Hammersmith as they prepare for the publication of a newly expanded edition of their mighty Last Night a DJ Saved My Life. Bill and Frank talk about the original mission behind the book, as well as their different routes into dance music. They recall how they met and combined forces in '90s New York, where DJs such as Frankie Knuckles and Junior Vasquez proved transformative figures. Co-host Mark recalls seeing Bill and Frank DJ'ing at Fabric in 2000 and then reading the original edition of Last Night… Recalling their first articles for Mixmag in the '90s, the DJ History duo reminisce about the late Dom Phillips, the magazine's former editor who was so brutally murdered in the Amazon this month. They praise the courage Dom showed in confronting Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and exposing the criminal gangs behind much of the Amazon's deforestation. Bill and Frank discuss the process of researching and writing Last Night…, barely knowing if figures such as Bronx hip hop legend were even still alive, and explain what turned clubs like Larry Levan's Paradise Garage into "religious" experiences. The week's new audio interview – Bill and Frank's own 2005 quizzing of drum and bass legend Fabio – proves infectiously enjoyable as they hear themselves asking the Brixton-born DJ about Crackers and Spectrum. The episode concludes with thoughts on Elvis Presley and the new biopic made by Baz Luhrman, after which Mark talks us through library pieces he's added about Bill Haley (1957), Billie Holiday (1959) and Buffalo Springfield (1968), while Jasper concludes proceedings with quotes from pieces about Kanye West (2016) and Arlo Parks (2019). Many thanks to special guests Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton. The new edition of Last Night a DJ Saved My Life is published by White Rabbit and available to pre-order now. Pieces discussed: House, Rave, DJ Kool Herc, Dom Phillips, Fabio audio, Elvis, Comeback Special, Elvis and Black Music, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, James Brown, Bob Marley, Bill Haley, Buffalo Springfield, Kanye West and Arlo Parks.

In this episode we welcome heavy metal expert Deborah Frost, Zooming in from her native New York City, and invite her to talk about her career as a writer and musician. Deborah reminisces about the all-girl "female Dolls" Flaming Youth, in which she drummed in the early '70s, and then explains how she came to write her first pieces for Circus in 1977. She talks about her love of hard rock and heavy metal, and about contributing to Rolling Stone and the Village Voice — including her acclaimed 1985 Voice piece 'White Noise: How Heavy Metal Rules', with its unflattering descriptions of the drug-and-groupie-addled Mötley Crüe. From the Crüe we segue into another great "umlaut" metal band, one beloved of Deborah's co-hosts Barney, Martin & Jasper. Yep, we're talking about Blue Öyster Cult, to whose drummer Albert Bouchard our guest was once married. After Barney & Martin attempt to do justice to what made the Cult so uniquely brilliant, we hear clips from 1978 audio interviews with the group's Allen Lanier& Eric Bloom, while Deborah talks about the "rock-critical" role played in the BÖC's development by Sandy Pearlman, R(ichard) Meltzer & punk poetess Patti Smith. An abrupt shift takes us into the amazing world of Grace Jones and her curation of the 2022 Meltdown festival in London. Guest and hosts alike celebrate the iconic Jamaican transgressor, focusing particularly on the Island albums she made at Chris Blackwell's Compass Point studios in the early '80s. Deborah also dumbfounds us with a story about getting naked in a New York sauna with Grace and her beefy boyfriend Dolph Lundgren. There's bonus audio in the form of Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis, talking in 2015 to Coup De Main's Pip Williams. Foals fan Jasper introduces the clips and — in the week that sees the release of their new album — explains why he rates his fellow Oxonians so highly. After that, he takes us through recent RBP library pieces added by the holidaying Mark Pringle, including Max Jones' 1959 Melody Maker homage to the departed Billie Holiday and Calvin Bush's 1998 Muzik profile of Jungle king Goldie. Many thanks to special guest Deborah Frost. Find out more about her and her writing on her RBP writers page. Pieces discussed: How Heavy Metal Rules, Rock Criticism as Brain Surgery, Allen Lanier audio, Eric Bloom audio, Grace Jones in 1977, Grace Jones in 1980, Chris Blackwell's Compass Point studios, Foals' Yannis Philippakis audio, Billie Holliday R.I.P., Goldie and Odell's disco.