Music Maps - The Rock n Roll Book Club Podcast

Join us as we chart Prince's formative years in Minneapolis, Minnesota with biographer Matt Thorne.We discuss his family background, how he came to be named Prince, his early bands & songwriting (he wrote his first song at the age of 7). Prince's early influences remained pretty consistent throughout his life & included Larry Graham, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, Sly Stone, the Jacksons, Tower of Power, Miles Davis, Carlos Santana, Joni Mitchell, Rufus and Chaka Khan.Some of the early gigs Prince attended included James Brown, Joni Mitchell & Todd Rundgren leading to the formation of his first band Grand Central. Prince's remarkable work ethic was there from the start & this leads to his eventual signing to Warner Brothers Records in 1977, then one of the largest contracts for a new artist in history. Part 2 picks up where this leaves off & goes into detail on Prince's first 2 albums, early singles & tours. Signs Key role of British writer/producer Chris MoonThe many home recordings

Pulp Part 1 - Nick Banks joined Pulp in 1986 after seeing an ad outside Sheffield Leadmill & as a fan of the local band already decided to audition, making his live debut at the Adelphi Hotel in Hull shortly after. Following Jarvis Cocker's decision to relocate to London in 1988, Nick follows suit & Pulp begin to focus more on gigs in the capital. The Separations album is recorded the following year but doesn't come out until 1992. Island Records eventually become interested & the His n Hers album begins to take shape. A John Peel Session follows 13 years after Pulp's first & Jarvis Cocker borrows £5000 off his Grandma to facilitate the release of the Babies single. Geoff Travis comes to the rescue amid wrangling with the band's label & the His n Hers album is recorded at Britannia Row Studios in Islington, North London. A Top of the Pops debut follows & gigs with Blur & Supergrass come shortly after as well as a memorable Christmas gig at the Theatre Royal.

Join us to take a deep dive into the little known history of Joy Division right here on our home turf in Walthamstow, East London. Find out from a first hand source how the band came to play 2 gigs here in 1979 - how it came about, how many people were there, what happened & more.Joy Division's first trip to London had been in late 1978 when they played the Hope & Anchor in Islington just after Christmas, at that gig they met some punks from Walthamstow & later come to play 2 shows at the now demolished youth centre on Markhouse Road. About a week later the now iconic bridge photo was taken of Joy Division by Kevin Cummins.Following their debut release the Factory Sample, on March 30th 1979 Joy Division play their first gig in E17, after which the band stayed at a house on The Crescent here in Walthamstow lying on mattresses in the living room.Hear about some recently uncovered photos from this stay in E17 as well as the conjecture over whether the band stayed or not as they entered Strawberry Studios in Stockport the very next day to begin recording the Unknown Pleasures album with Martin Hannett.We will tell you about some of the mysteries surrounding the 2nd gig as the date is officially unknown & little remains in terms of advertising, promotion, setlist or bootleg recordings.Also hear about how Ian Curtis's legendary Mac featured in several iconic photos ended up in a charity shop here in Walthamstow.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellWritten & Produced by Simon CardwellEdited by Andy Maxwell

Join us on our first trip to Scotland, Edinburgh to be precise to retrace the history of on elf post-punk's most iconic bands, Josef K. The band were only around a few years but their influence has grown enormously in the intervening years, biographer Johnnie Johnston takes us through our first look at C81, Postcard Records, & the Sound of Young Scotland.We talk about the Scotland of the 1970s & how it differs from today, how the band met & came together, The band's connection with the Worlds End Murders of October 1977, Josef K's key influences including the Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, Iggy & the Stooges & of course the advent of punk.A key gig in the city of Edinburgh took place at the Playhouse in May of 1977 when The Clash, Subway Sect, The Jam, The Slits & Buzzcocks all appearing on the same bill. The band later open for the Clash in 1980. We discuss both as well as the legendary 'Sound of Young Scotland' showcase gigs in Edinburgh & Glasgow. Josef K also got support slots with Magazine, Bauhaus, The Cure, Teardrop Explodes, Echo & the Bunnymen in the wake of those legendary gigs.Was Postcard was the right fit for the band? We also mention earlier signings to the label including The Go-Betweens, Aztec Camera & Orange Juice.Along with that we touch on Josef K's unique sound with 3 rhythm guitars but no lead, the John Peel session the band recorded, their subsequent influence on the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Wedding Present & The Smiths.And of course, Josef K's curious decision to re-record their debut album, their sudden break up & a little about what happened to the members after & much more.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellWritten & Produced by Simon CardwellEdited by Andy Maxwell

We welcome Jah Wobble to tell us about his time with PiL (Public Image Limited) - we start with how he joined the band, touch upon his youth with John Lydon, who came up with the name of the band & the brief early involvement of Richard Branson. We hear about how Keith Levene & Jim Walker joined the band (and Jim's departure later) as well as signing with Virgin Records shortly after. Jah describes the chaotic finances of the band & the key part photographer Dennis Morris played in the story.We hear about how the innovative PiL band logo came to be & the arrival of the debut album First Issue arrives in late 1978 followed by the novel idea of playing gigs on Christmas Day & Boxing Day at the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park.Jah explains how PiL songs nearly always start with the baseline & build from there & how this played into the Metal Box album which follows in November 1979 & how the famous metal container cover came about. We hear a couple of unusual stories including Chris Blackwell's brief involvement & the prospect to sign with Island Records in the US along with a meeting with Martin Scorsese to discuss the soundtrack for Raging Bull.Factory Records gets a mention as a label which may have been a better fit for the band in hindsight - we also hear about the bands first US tour in early 1980 - Jah tells us how the audiences compared to back at home as well as how this tour ultimately became his last appearances with the band as he left upon returning to London.All this & more - if you like this episode please leave us a review or star rating on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellWritten & Produced by Simon CardwellEdited by Andy Maxwell

Biographer Lesley-Ann Jones joins us to talk about Paul McCartney's time in Scotland living on High Park Farm near Campbeltown. We talk about his decision to buy this property in a remote part of Scotland, his & John Lennon's links (or lack of) to Scotland, Linda's role in Paul & his family spending more time there & the privacy it subsequently afforded them. We move onto discuss some of the key songs written at the farm over the years including Heart of the Country, The Lovely Linda & That Would Be Something as well as some that were recorded there in Paul's home studio such as Back To The Egg & McCartney II. We discuss the impact of Linda McCartney's photos taken at the farm which later appeared on the cover of Ram & the inner sleeve of McCartney I. Moving on we really dig into the writing, recording, release, video shoot & more for Mull of Kintyre - how Paul came to meet & work with the Campbeltown Pipe Band, the huge success of the song in the UK, its comparable lack of success in the US, the various videos & TV appearance which followed & how the song fit upon its release in 1977, the year of punk.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellWritten & Produced by Simon CardwellEdited by Andy Maxwell

Carrying on our chat with Tim Booth we continue on the early years of James with the recording of their first demo, signing to Factory Records & making their debut release with the Jimone EP in November 1983. From there Tim tells us about meeting The Smiths & playing with them at the Hacienda & subsequently touring Ireland with them & later joining the Meat Is Murder Tour in 1985. James are touring with Johnny Marr across the USA in the autumn & Tim tells us how this came about. We also hear about leaving Factory Records in 1985 & ending up on Sire Records - debut album Stutter is produced by Lenny Kaye. The follow up Strip Mine doesn't appear until 18 months after it was recorded & we hear about that what let do these delays. We also get to ask Tim about the famous Anti Clause 28 gig with the Stone Roses at the International, signing to Rough Trade in 1989 & releasing the Gold Mother album which leads to the huge success of Come Home & Sit Down. Tim talks us through writing, releasing & re-recording Sit Down. We talk about a few of the bands bib gigs from this era including the G Mex & the roof of the Piccadilly Hotel in Manchester as well as Alton Towers in 1990 in front of 30,000 fans. The Seven album also comes out in 1990 & we touch on that & then hear about how the band met & worked with Brian Eno We move onto this year's Yummy album - the bands first number 1 in the UK Chart & talk through some upcoming festival appearances throughout 2024.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellWritten & Produced by Simon CardwellEdited by Andy Maxwell

Tim Booth joins us this week to talk about his new book 'When I Died For The First Time' out now on Constable (imprint of Little Brown). We talk about his writing influences from Doris Lessing & Patti Smith to Frank Herbert & then how his experiences in James influenced his writing. We also talk in depth about James latest UK number 1 album Yummy as well as their recent appearance at Glastonbury 2024 & their other appearances they have coming up over the summer & an autumn USA tour with Johnny Marr.Moving onto James we start with Tim meeting the band at Manchester University Student's Union, joining initially as a dancer but graduating to lead singer within 4-5 months. Tim talks us through some of the bands early gigs including the first gig in Blackburn along with early appearances at the Hacienda & the International inManchester. We find out how they came up with the name James & signing to Factory Records & Tony Wilson - with more to come in part 2.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellWritten & Produced by Simon CardwellEdited by Andy Maxwell

Helen O'Hara joins us as we talk through her early career from getting a knock on the door to play with Kevin Archer's The Blue Ox Babes to later joining Dexys Midnight Runners. We talk about being renamed Helen O'Hara by Kevin Rowland & joining Dexys as one of the Emerald Express shortly after & Helen's difficult decision to join the band & turn down an offer to join the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra. recording for the first time with the band at AIR Studios in London with producers Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley. Helen's first gig with Dexys comes at Exhibition Park in Newcastle for a Radio 1 show, where the band also unveiled their new look. Soon after the band recorded & released the Too-Rye-Ay album which spawned the number 1 single Come On Eileen - Helen explains the importance of the Top Of The Pops appearances in breaking the song. The Bridge Tour follows in 1982 & the Jackie Wilson Said single follows & again becomes a hit. Join us for all this and more.Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon CardwellWritten & Produced by Simon CardwellEdited by Andy Maxwell