Has there ever been a group like Talking Heads? Jonathan Gould’s Burning Down The House explores their affluent background, the root of their ambition and the springboard of the New York scene of the late ‘70s (he was a regular at CBGB). Along with …

... the romanticised image of CBGB and the reality

… their black music roots: “the same instrumentation as Booker T & the MGs”

… the influence of the Modern Lovers: “Jonathan Richman and Byrne were both oddballs, appealing but peculiar”

… how the economy of New York’s real estate let them rent a 2,000 square foot loft for $289 a month

… bands from affluent backgrounds take greater commercial risks: “there was always a Plan B”

… the art-school drop-out lineage that began John Lennon and Keith Richards

… how different they were from the CBGBs acts, a band that sang verses in French and “didn’t dress like the New York Dolls”

… the band’s dynamic, Chris and Tina “effectively one person”

... did Byrne really make Tina Weymouth “re-audition”?

… the success of the Tom Tom Club and the tension that caused

… Byrne’s invention of his own “white choreography”

… Stop Making Sense, as big a part of their legacy as any album

… and why there can never be a reunion

Mentioned in dispatches: Brian Eno, Adrian Belew, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Ramone and Fela Kuti.

Order ‘Burning Down The House’ here:

https://www.waterstones.com/book/9780063022980

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Freddie Mercury had an affair with a close friend’s wife and, in 1977, became a father. He’s now a grandfather. That’s the foundation of a new book ‘Love, Freddie’ by his highly respected biographer Lesley-Ann Jones which details a four-year, detailed exchange with his daughter ‘B’, now 48, and the contents of the 17 notebooks he gave her before he died in 1991. We talk to Lesley-Ann here about this gripping new tilt on his story which covers …

… the 41-page document B sent her in 2021 and how the author assumed it was a hoax

… why B was outraged by his portrayal in the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic

… how the notebooks Freddie gave her are legally owned by Sony “and she would burn them if they tried to collect them”

… Freddie’s turmoil at the time of her conception - engaged to Mary Austin, a love affair with David Minns

… B’s secret life in Kensington and Montreux and her father’s “scary knitwear” disguises

… “in the age of AI, even a real photo of Freddie and his daughter would be reckoned a scam”

… the unheard – surely priceless - recordings Freddie made of the two of them singing together

… how B’s existence stayed a secret and the members of Queen’s inner circle who might have known about her

… the photo of B, aged four, with her dad and David Bowie

… and how there were no denials about B’s existence from Queen or any Cease & Desist demands when the book extracts published.

Order ‘Love, Freddie’ here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Freddie-Mercurys-Secret-Life/dp/1916797962

Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

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All the leaves are brown and the sky’s a bit unruly but mellow fruitfulness abounds in this week’s pick of the rock and roll news. Add to basket …

… is Morrissey hacked off, broke or just desperate for attention?

… are stadium gigs the new tourism?

… bucket hats, Man City, lads culture … how did America finally ‘get’ Oasis?

… singles that weren’t on albums

… are we sated by an overabundance of music?

… how Gary Numan got a record deal

… why Gene Loves Jezebel are the new Sam & Dave!

… the new age of the rock and roll pilgrimage

… did Slade record the Hokey Cokey? The Dave Clark Five did Neil Young? The Troggs did Foxy Lady?

… the Jam, the Yardbirds, The Nice, the Smiths: bands who broke up because they couldn’t crack America

… selling Barry White records to Middle Eastern airline pilots

Plus Tubeway Army, the Scaffold doing Ging Gang Goolie, “Mister Ferry’s diction” and birthday guest Jelltex.

Find out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

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