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Articles by David Hepworth

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The Word Podcast live on August 19th

July 6, 2014 David Hepworth 0

In response to public demand we’re putting on a recording of the Word Podcast live on August 19th. It’ll be at the Islington. Mark Ellen, […]

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Our first Manchester Word In Your Ear – with Stuart Maconie and Mark Ellen

May 9, 2014 David Hepworth 0

There’s nothing like speech. It’s amazing how many subjects you can touch on, buttons you can press, situations you can recall and pictures you can […]

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Keep May 19th free and stay tuned for a details of a second Mark Ellen show

March 6, 2014 David Hepworth 1

The show with Mark Ellen at the Slaughtered Lamb on May 12th has sold out but we’ll be announcing another one to take place a […]

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Revision notes for Sunday’s WIYE at the Lexington

November 27, 2013 David Hepworth 0

Here’s Rhodri Marsden’s piercing analysis of the umbilical connection between the words “waiting” and “aniticipating” This is “Build A House Of Love”, an Andy Gregory-arranged […]

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Did anyone take any decent pictures of last night’s show?

October 10, 2013 David Hepworth 0

I was somewhat preoccupied so I didn’t. Which is a shame because it seemed to go very well. Can’t tell you how much simpler it […]

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I’m 540 pages into Mark Lewisohn’s book…

September 24, 2013 David Hepworth 0

…so I’ve written about it here.

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A night playing records and talking with Richard Williams and Kate Mossman

September 17, 2013 David Hepworth 0

Last night Richard Williams and Kate Mossman were  guinea pigs for our experimental evening in the small upstairs room to the Betsey Trotwood. In my […]

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We’re back from our holidays

August 22, 2013 David Hepworth 0

News about two exciting shows in September and October coming soon. Keep the 16th of the former and the 15th of the latter free. More […]

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We few, we happy few, will be talking about those Duckworth Lewis shows for weeks

July 10, 2013 David Hepworth 0

Alex and I have just got back from Nottingham, having seen the Duckworth Lewis Method royally entertain the Playhouse Theatre with a slightly longer set […]

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Handful of new tickets for Duckworth Lewis at Lord’s on Monday!

July 5, 2013 David Hepworth 0

Because of public demand and media interest, Duckworth Lewis will now be playing two shows at Lord’s on Monday night and therefore we have issued […]

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The Word Podcast

Word In Your Ear
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.

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Billy Bragg – 40 years, 2,700 gigs and what he learnt from Taylor Swift
byMark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold

‘Billy Bragg: A People’s History’ is just out, a new and wholly original kind of memoir written by himself, friends, collaborators and fans, and packed with old snapshots, concert bills, reviews and ephemera. It’s very good indeed. He looks back here with us at …

 

… meeting Taylor Swift – “and we both knew who the other was!”

 

… a total of 2,700 gigs – “not counting prisons, In-Stores, Port-A-Stacks and picket lines”

 

… old blokes trying to take selfies

 

… finding old diaries in his archives and sensing how the memory plays tricks

 

… songs that get you out of trouble on stage

 

… bootlegging albums on his reel-to-reel, aged 12, complete with noises off – eg “Bridge Over Troubled Water plus a voice telling me Reach For The Sky was on telly!”

 

… a word-perfect recitation of Mr Tambourine Man

 

… listening to the Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll when the rest of the school was Glam Rock

 

… buying Ronnie Lane’s amp, “like returning home with a religious relic”

 

… “the power of music”: meeting someone who’d heard him on the radio beyond the Iron Curtain

 

… anxiety about American border control: “I was advised to get a new phone. As if that’ll make any difference. I’m Billy Bragg, political songwriter!”

 

… lost off-grid in Salt Lake City in the days before internet

 

… “Music can’t change the world but it gives you the ability to think it can be changed”

 

…plus Ian McLagan, Desmond Dekker, Ry Cooder, Jam b-sides and Motown Chartbusters Vol 3.

 

Order Billy Bragg: A People’s History here: https://burningshed.com/billy-bragg_a-peoples-history_book

 

https://www.billybragg.co.uk/product/billy-bragg-a-peoples-history-an-oral-history-in-the-words-of-people-who-have-been-moved-by-his-music/

Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear


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Billy Bragg – 40 years, 2,700 gigs and what he learnt from Taylor Swift
Billy Bragg – 40 years, 2,700 gigs and what he learnt from Taylor Swift
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Rock stars we envy, Madonna as a sister-in-law & the British obsession with poshness
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Bowie, Boy George and the rise of the riotous Blitz club with Robert Elms
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The Prince story by 200 people who knew him – and John McKie
October 1, 2025
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