Jonathan Coe: Prog Rock, Billy Wilder and Bolan splitting his trousers ...

Novelist Jonathan Coe remembers record shops in the late '60s, "the sickly green plastic and orange label" of T.Rex tapes, all four gigs he saw in the '70s, Around The World In 80 Days, the misery of 8-track cartridge, Robert Wyatt, Bill Haley, ELO, the profoundly pleasing time signatures of Egg and National Health, his calculated snubbing of headline act Steve Hillage, and why he recorded the whole of Some Like It Hot off the telly on cassette. Plus the Greatest Song Ever Written.
@jonathancoe
Unnecessary Music …
sparoad.bandca...
www.amazon.co....
Want exclusive early access to every future Word In Your Attic as well as our quizzes, Crowdcasts with famous authors and unforgettable birthday presents? Of course you do! Make sure you're signed up to our fabulous Patreon for all this and more: / wordinyourear

[@charlesnolan7602]

This is fantastic! I was a cassette buyer, and even a member of the Columbia Record and tape club in 1972. My first prog cassette was YES ," Fragile" then Tull, Thick as a Brick. In February 1973, I bought Close to the Edge, and Atlantic Records made all of their cassette and 8 track cartridges and cases using pink plastic! 1972-1973 was the introduction of records into my listening experience! Now on CDs- switched over starting in 1986. I have about 20 records left, and about 800 CDs!

[@garethstuffins6958]

Jonathan Coe's recollection of recording the soundtrack to Some Like It Hot reminds me that back in the day before videos came along, when the broadcast of James Bond films was an event I decided to record the sound of the film on to cassettes. With the microphone in front of the television and it being the first time we were all able to see it together in the lounge I asked My family to stay quiet whilst recording. During a moment in From Russia with Love where Bond is recording a conversation about the Lektor My Mum piped up with the comment "Ever Ready batteries".....I listened to those cassettes so many times years after before actually owning the films and still have them to this day.

[@davidrobinson2776]

I remember buying an “ultra rare” cassette of Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow (or a Creamed Cage in August) by T Rex from a tiny record shop in Newcastle. It cost £25 and the proprietor told me it was a rare misprint. Apparently, EMI had produce the cover in blue rather than gold and only four similar copies had been discovered. If I ever find that hippy swine and he asks for assistance after a being bitten by a badger whilst dogging in the woods, I will tell him to eff right off. The rare blue cover was actually the result of the bloody thing being bleached by the sun after sitting in the window for too long, a fact I was told by a bloke at another record shop after I tried to sell it 3 years later. Thank god I didn’t buy the rare blue 8 track of the same album. That was £40.

[@philiphalpenny3783]

A nightingale no longer singing. Remembering Voice Of The Beehive, Amy Winehouse on her 10th anniversary today (July, 23rd)...

[@davidrobinson2776]

@@philiphalpenny3783 Beautifully said, sir. I can’t believe it’s been so long. Memories linger here.

[@philiphalpenny3783]

As with Karen Carpenter, her music is suffused with melancholy...would have loved her to have recorded with Dusty Springfield...Imagine Dusty covering Love Is A losing Game...

[@davidrobinson2776]

@@philiphalpenny3783 Funnily enough, despite being a big Amy and Dusty fan, I never imagined them working together but now you’ve mentioned it I can’t stop thinking of how magical it could have been. They certainly had a lot in common on and off stage. I remember Amy saying she wasn’t a natural performer and Dusty said much the same as she hid behind the “Dusty Springfield” persona to cope with it all. My other favourite, Sandie Shaw was and still is, quite the opposite. She was a complete natural in front of the camera and it loved her back. As it is, we lost an outrageous talent 10 years ago and, in my opinion, her legacy hasn’t been handled very well by her family. Yes, they set up a foundation and built a statue but Mitch also released a solo album a week or so after Amy died and handed out her clothes to fans outside her flat which ended up on eBay within hours. Add this to her ex husband embarking on a mission to self destruct and destroy every bit of self respect he still has. I once wrote to Mitch, Amy’s Dad, and asked if Amy’s memory would be better served by reaching out to Blake, her ex, and offering him a job with the foundation if he got clean. I said it would take some doing but Amy would have loved to see that happen, even if it was a long shot. Sadly I got no response.

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

'Rock'n'roll was always in 4/4 and had three chords. I was always curious what would happen if we used four chords and did it in 5/4' - Bill Bruford.

[@stephengarside9744]

Really enjoyed this. Disappointed that some people have posted negative comments. Digging my Canterbury albums out! Great that he recognised the undoubted talents of Ben Watt too. Thanks Jonathan.

[@hugohugo2832]

I had a similar experience with punk. All my peers were into it whereas I worked backwards to Sabbath, Hendrix , Cream etc that no one would admit to liking back then.

[@keef71]

We had a '70s Sanyo music centre like that - black plastic with smoked plastic lid but with wood finish on the main unit and speakers. Turntable, cassette recorder and radio so you tape off the radio or your LPs. As much as i know about these things it had a really good, rich but clear sound - miles away from the scratchy, tinny sound you later got from Currys/Dixons midi-units in the '80s. Must find out if my mum still has it in a cupboard somewhere, would love to get it cleaned up and working again.

[@davidrobinson2776]

Apologies for yet another comment but in the cold light of day I realised Jonathon showed Flyback The Best of T Rex. This was the second Flyback compilation album I believe. The first was a various artists style affair and the third was either Procol Harem or The Move. The T Rex compilation was pretty good but mine had a problem with the first track, Debora. It ended very abruptly and all you heard was silence for around 20 seconds until the next track started. I often wondered if this was a thing on every copy. Funnily enough, it was bought it from the same guy who sold me the rare blue Zinc Alloy tape I mentioned in my earlier comment. Once again, sorry for cluttering up the comments section but you will keep mentioning T Rex on these podcasts and it just starts me on a wistful meander into a simpler time.

[@lawrencewindrush5826]

Surprised Jonathan has lost his Brummie accent. Great to hear him talk about his favourite music

[@paulhilton3443]

I've now worked out that if I put these on full screen and put on my headset everyone else who passes by my door in the office thinks I'm engaging in meaningful Zoom with people who look vaguely familiar but....nah couldn't be....

[@michaelmouse4024]

Good to hear from a clever man, especially when he's knocking the idiocy of brexit...

[@eugenbeer6321]

I love David Hepworth's devotion to Little Feat. (Greatest rock band in the world in my humble opinion) Any chance to get a mention of them he gets it in... Quite rightly.

[@eugenbeer6321]

@@philiphalpenny3783 Many lives ago... driving Lee Brilleaux up to Scotland and playing him Little Feat bootlegs... he just kept on saying "do you know how hard that is?" listening to Lowell George's solos.

[@eugenbeer6321]

@@philiphalpenny3783 Was with Little Feat for three days in Newcastle on their last tour of UK... Lowell George would step off stage for "Day At The Dog Races"... he was very much apart from the rest off the band. They were all exhausted, disillusioned and broke. Just tragic. But if you GOT their music it just infected you with joy and once inside it's forever in your DNA. Just love them.

[@eugenbeer6321]

of the band

[@eugenbeer6321]

@@philiphalpenny3783 I was covering them for Sounds. It ended up as a feature with the headline "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do". Went up with our dog (Mungo) and during one slow day persuaded their coach driver to take us all (except Lowell & Elizabeth George) to see Hadrian's Wall.

[@eugenbeer6321]

@@philiphalpenny3783 Photographed them live but no story.

[@patrickhostler5939]

Jonathan has a very restrained almost dry personality… BUT, you can tell he’s thinking carefully about his answers and observations on music. I actually really enjoyed this episode a lot

[@hugohugo2832]

Christ almighty. Didn’t Mark recognise that as a cassette player??????

[@waterboys3001]

Really enjoyable interview, probably because we share similar musical tastes and are of a similar age. I still listen to Gentle Giant, Hatfield and the North, Prefab Sprout, and National Health. I share his love of Ravel's orchestral music, Daphnis & Chloe is brilliant. Forget about Bolero. I also like Snarky Puppy, they emerged from a Texas music school and play modern big band jazz. I like Little Feat, but the Doobie Brothers wrote great dance music. We would play their music at parties when I was in the sixth form in the 1970s. I don't understand the comment about their music being bland, their music was funky for a white American band. British critics seem to have limited tastes.

[@keef71]

I also taped the audio of The Young Ones (80s anarchic comedy, not Cliff Richard!) on my mono tape recorder from the TV, as we didn't have a video

[@grayhalf1854]

Surprised he didn't mention Louis Philippe, with whom he's collaborated and remains a big fan (as am I). I think that Monsieur Philippe (aka musician, journalist and writer Philippe Auclair) would be an excellent guest for the show actually, he's an interesting fellow with feet in both the music and football camps.

[@patrickcrowther9195]

It’s funny how some bands just disappear for ages and then have a massive resurgence of interest. For years I can barely remember ELO being mentioned in polite society. Now you can’t go anywhere without someone declaring their love for them. Aside from the muddy production on their best records, the songs are just wonderful. I’m so pleased they have been reclaimed as one of the great pop acts of all time.

[@davidrobinson2776]

Excellent observation, sir. ELO were in the same bracket as ABBA at one time. Not in popularity but the subject of general derision. Now, quite rightly, ABBA are seen in a much more favourable light and ELO are enjoying a deserved renaissance. I seem to recall even The Beatles went through a similar dip in popularity in the late 70’s and 80’s to the point I was laughed at for declaring my love for them. And no comment of mine would be complete without T Rex. They were universally hated for a time and now they are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

[@patrickcrowther9195]

@@davidrobinson2776 ABBA were considered a joke by many at the time (not by me, I hasten to add, but then again I was in single figures). I think Elvis Costello was about the only name musician who talked about them favourably. They only really started to be given their dues when they released the ‘ABBA Gold’ CD. Led Zeppelin are another one - their name was dirt in the ‘80s. People would cross the road to avoid you if you sported a Zep T-shirt. Then the box set came out in 1990 and suddenly people had to admit that they were fucking amazing.

[@davidrobinson2776]

@@patrickcrowther9195 Yes! I remember the way Led Zeppelin were called dinosaurs back then. My beloved T Rex were a total joke when I was in my teens yet when Oasis nicked half their riffs, they crept back into fashion. In later years we see the same kind of thing happening with Suede, Travis and Coldplay. My own pet gripe was the derision I got from my mates in the 90’s when I produce a Sweet album. Now they are thought of as glam rock royalty.

[@pommycalva]

17 minutes in David,getting the hi fi installed as first priority has been my thing since I have kids hooked up to the TV system of course!

[@alisonwunderland9900]

The Caravan album is a fine thing...

[@warmeggs]

When 'this bloody war' is over ,I'm taking my new band out at the first opportunity-We're called Hepworth's White Flask and have been described as 'Lonnie Donegan meets Raspberry Bulbs--come and see us --thanks for these xx---on the topic of going to see bands and only being interested in the support-Budgie(always brilliant ) and Ian Gillan (total cack) springs to mind immediately

[@gordonwhitelock4349]

I had that support act and leave after bit of the headliner thing with Television ( support ) and Patti Smith ( headliner ) about 6/8 years ago. I felt I had come for what I wanted from the evening and was happy enough. thought Patti was a bit arch, gx

[@StevieBluenoseScott]

Fascinating. Camel where always better than Caravan.

[@ainsleyperry5192]

Lad's, The film director the late Billy Wilder gave us 3 of the all time classic film's in 3 different genre's. His film Noir " Double Indemnity," his horror film " Sunset Blvd," and voted the best comedy of the 20th century by film critic's, " Some like it Hot." T.Rex never goes away. Funny how E.L.O. has been rediscovered all over again. Cheer's Chris Perry.

[@hazelwray5307]

Sunset Boulevard is usually categorized as Film Noir, although it does have a Gothic tone...darkly satirical too.

[@ainsleyperry5192]

@@hazelwray5307 Yes I would have thought Film Noir. But some film critic's of the day ( 1950) seemed more enclined to liken it more as a tale about a silent flapper movie star living in the lair of the Phantom of the Opera. And the horror's that goes on inside the decaying mansion.After all this time it's still a very good movie. Cheers, Chris Perry.

[@geofftayloruk]

I had that same cassette recorder ;D)

[@SubTroppo]

Going with the flow, the best record has got to be side 2 of Caravan's In the Land of Grey and Pink. As I recall it, friends came back from the Weeley festival with lots of influences, and Caravan and Colosseum were among them. Somehow this reminds me of one of the worst bands I ever saw: Sigue Sigue Sputnik (would you believe!). ps Where's Wally?

[@unchattytwit]

I like being trapped in this little island but it's not so little when you really explore it - just think of it as Proust on a larger scale - it's all brilliant! Nothing wrong with Yes and Genesis - bloody exciting music played by decent musicians. The 70's generation are still snobbish about who was cool and who wasn't according to some dick journo in the music press who later became a corporate lapdog fascist. Thank Gad, the younger generation are open to anything, mix it up on spotify, and listen to anything that tickles their fancy. I'm not sure Genesis were less down to earth than Ravel. Little Feat were decent as was Steve Hillage. Snarkey Puppy are a horrible manufactured contrivance. Drum machines and the sterilized production was ollocks in the 80's. So there. I recommend Caravan.

[@davidrobinson2776]

You make a good point, sir. My youngest son recently dashed into the kitchen and told me he’d discovered a great new band and then played me Brassneck by The Wedding Present on his mobile phone. It took me a good 20 minutes to convince him they have been going since I was his age. He then played me something by a local MC who just kept saying a string of homophobic phrases about a person called “Fam” and then “Come for me, bruh” over the same track. Apparently, he is a “big noise” on the scene. Swings and roundabouts eh?