Episode Ep 678 September 27, 2024 45 min 10s

When Cocteau Twins followed the Ramones onstage and why 1979 was the Golden Age - by Simon Raymonde

From Word In Your Ear Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold

Simon Raymonde’s affecting and beautifully written memoir ‘In One Ear’ records life in the ‘60s growing up with a father who wrote and arranged for Dusty Springfield, Helen Shapiro and the Walker Brothers, the impossibly shy promotional activities of the Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil and the struggles and eventual jackpot of the Bella Union record label he founded. He’s so perceptive, observant and self-mocking and we loved this energetic podcast which, among much else, lands upon …

... why 1979 was the Golden Year.

… the time Scott Walker came to his parents’ house.

… why the Cocteau Twins might have tanked in the current age of self-promotion.

… how a loathing for Phil Collins was a Sliding Doors moment.

… the problem with bands that don’t talk to each other.

… why they refused to appear on Top Of The Pops.

… following Rancid and the Ramones at Lollapalooza in 1996 and the sobering events that ensued.

… why the Old Grey Whistle Test was “not a happy experience”.

… the cryptic language of Elizabeth Fraser’s lyrics why he never asked her what they meant.

… “if I hadn’t worked at the Beggars record shop I wouldn’t be talking to you now”.

… why bands are “less naïve now”.

… and “Cocteau Twins - swirling sepulchral shards of sound that patter like raindrops against the windows of your mind” – ©️ the Music Press in 1985.