September 2014

One small step for Word In Your Ear, one giant stride for Monday nights in the pub

September 23, 2014 David Hepworth 0

Last night’s show was our best yet. Thanks to the people at the Islington we managed to get the visuals working and so we we could put on […]

Stevie Nicks biographer Zoe Howe added to our Ben Watt live podcast recording

September 13, 2014 David Hepworth 0

We’re delighted to say that Zoe Howe‘s joining us at our next Word In Your Ear Podcast recording at the Islington on September 22nd. She’ll be […]

A Quiet Word with Ben Watt at the Islington

September 8, 2014 David Hepworth 0

Ben Watt’s worn a variety of hats in the last thirty years: half of Everything But The Girl, solo artist, deejay, producer, club owner and […]

Word In Your Ear

David Hepworth, Mark Ellen and chums cast an occasionally jaundiced eye over the goings-on in the worlds of music and entertainment.

David Gray went through the roof with his White Ladder album in 2000 and he’s toured and recorded ever since, ending this summer’s loop at Latitude. He talks to us here about the rigours of seeing bands when you lived in rural Wales and the hilarious, hard-won lessons of the first gigs he played himself and every possible shade of crowd reaction. It’s an absolute whirlwind from start to finish and features …

… playing weddings, clubs, festivals and a Welsh village regatta

… the role of music in the construction of your character

… the turning point: “I arrived onstage to more applause than I’d ever had when leaving”

… the time gave Morrissey his string of beads

… the emotional architecture of live performance and how Elvis programmed his shows

… vivid memories of seeing the Cult (“bloody nose”), the Mission (“headbutted”) and the Stranglers (“we left terrified”)

… running from stage to stage at Glastonbury in ‘86 and the insular genius of the Cure

… his Liverpool punk band in their perishing “Joycean” flat

… the unbeatable sound of a crowd singing one of your songs

… Nick Drake’s frail sensibility and the value of growing a hard skin.

David Gray tickets here: davidgray.com

David Gray’s new album Nightjar, a companion to his 2005 No.1 record Life in Slow Motion, is out now via Bella Figura.