Music Maps Podcast

This week we celebrate 50 years of The Undertones with the one & only Mickey Bradley - our starting point is Derry in the late 1970s as we trace the formation of the band at the O’Neill house on Beechwood Avenue.

Although the initial idea for the Undertones was a folk band playing Mandolins - everything changes when they hear The Ramones & the early punk records - realising they need to speed up their songs.

Vincent O’Neill leaves & younger brother Damien joins to round out the lineup with Feargal, Mickey, Billy & principal songwriter John.

The first gig takes place in a local scout hall but its at Derry venue The Casbah where the band hone their craft, playing weekly for over 18 months from early 1977.

Their first visit to a recording studio remarkably results in the Teenage Kicks EP & it is released via legendary Belfast record shop burgeoning record label Good Vibrations.

The bands lives are changed forever when John Peel takes a liking to the record & plays it on his radio show - Mickey tells us about the varying accounts of how Peel got hold of the record.

John Peel famously played Teenage Kicks twice in a row on September 25th 1978 & Sire Records head Seymour Stein heard it while on a trip to the UK, resulting in the band signing to the prestigious New York home of The Ramones & Talking Heads.

Teenage Kicks also leads to an appearance on Top Of The Pops (the bands second time in a studio) & the rest is history.

The Undertones have tour dates throughout 2026 & you can get Mickey’s book here.

It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it.

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell
Music by Andy Maxwell
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are joined by an all-star panel comprising founder member of The Jam, Steve Brookes, Acid Jazz founder Eddie Piller & Dan Jennings, author of Paul Weller - The Oral History.

We retrace the early years of The Jam from Steve & Paul playing in Paul’s bedroom on Stanley Road in Woking, through Bruce Foxton & Rick Buckler joining the band.

However Steve dislikes the direction the band is taking & leaves before they are catapulted to success in with In The City after signing to Polydor.

We hear about their early material, the early mod scene in & around London, the infuleucne of punk on Paul Weller, specifically the Sex Pistols & hoe the famous graffiti The Jam logo was born.

Eddie Piller tells us about how he interviewed Paul for his fanzine at a young age while also getting Paul a McDonalds, toured across Holland & France going to Jam gigs & how close Paul was to signing for Acid Jazz in the early 90s.

The story has a happy ending for Steve Brookes when he reconnects with Paul Weller in the 90s - playing on 22 Dreams & other recent Weller projects. We also find out if he might have fit into the Style Council more than The Jam.

It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it.

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell
Music by Andy Maxwell
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week esteemed writer & broadcaster Robert Elms joins us to tell us about the legendary Blitz nightclub in London’s Convent Garden.

Back then Central London looked very different to today - back then it was an empty & desolate wasteland of abandoned buildings & crumbling blocks.

But from this rose a cultural phenomenon - starting at Billy’s as a David Bowie night & then moving onto The Blitz came a nightclub so legendary at least 70 of its regulars went onto achieve global prominence in some form.

Punk had peaked & in the gap came the extravagantly dressed creatures that inhabited The Blitz - regulars included founders Steve Strange & Rusty Egan, Boy George, Sade, Gary & Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet, Mudge Ure, Billy Idol, Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama & many more.

Within 18 months of this club night starting many of its regulars are in the charts both at home and& in the US with Visage, Ultravox, Spandau Ballet, Sade, Banarama, Culture Club & more all achieving huge success.

Affirmation came in July 1980 when David Bowie visited The Blitz.

It was over within 18 months, drawing to an end towards the end of 1980.

It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it.

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell
Music by Andy Maxwell
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us to celebrate 100 episodes of Music Maps with the mighty Kevin Rowland to discuss hew recent memory Bless Me Father & the story of Dexys Midnight Runners.

We start with Kevin’s early years in Wolverhampton, the families relocation to the London suburbs & how he ended up attending the 1966 World Cup Final & briefly meeting Cassius Clay.

Kevin’s tells us about his early years as a skinhead, his early musical influences including Bob Dylan & Bryan Ferry, his brief career in hairdressing & the beginnings of his first band Lucy & The Lovers.

The band morphed into punk band The Killjoys with future bandmate & collaborator Kevin Archer.

Kevin develops a very specific idea for a band right down to the clothes, the dancing & the unique brass sound.

We hear how Kevin missed Joy Division while having a haircut, how close Dexys ever came to signing to Two Tone & their appearance on the famous Two Tone tour.

Geno reaches number 1 & Dexys become much better known with their debut album Searching For the Young Soul Rebels (we also hear what actually happened with the demo tapes for the album).

However just as success arrives Kevin veers in a different direction & develops a new version of Dexys with multiple new members & a different sound. This incarnation go on to score huge hits with Come On Eileen & Jackie Wilson Said both featuring on the Too-Rye-Ay album.

It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it.

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell
Music by Andy Maxwell

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

Our starting point is the breakup of The Beatles as writer Tom Doyle joins us to talk through the life of Ringo Starr, his biography is out now.

His debut album Sentimental Journey arrives in March of 1970 & is quickly followed up with Beaucoup of Blues, a set of country standards.

Ringo has also began to build an acting career with The Magic Christian alongside Peter Sellars. An appearance in Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels follows.

He appears on not only George Harrison’s blockbuster All Things Must Pass but also John Lennon’s Imagine album.

Meanwhile he unexpectedly initially becomes the most successful of the solo Beatles, scoring a number of hits including It Don’t Come Easy, I’m The Greatest & Photograph (with the latter becoming the first Beatle to score a number 1 single).

You’re Sixteen also becomes a number 1 & his third album Ringo becomes his commercial peak with all 3 other Beatles appearing.

Ringo goes on to feature in the hit film That’ll Be The Day along with some not so successful releases including Son Of Dracula with Harry Nilsson & taking the lead in Caveman.

The 70’s see Ringo as one of the ‘Hollywood Vampires’ alongside Alice Cooper, Micky Dolenz, John Lennon, Harry Nilsson & Keith Moon.

Moving into the 1980s & Ringo unexpectedly becomes a hit on children’s television as the voice of Thomas The Tank Engine (or Shining Time Station to American viewers).

The 90s see Ringo mostly out on the road with his All Starr Band but will be remembered by Beatles fans for the Anthology reunion project & the comeback single Free As a Bird.

Ringo is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 & continues to perform to this day.

It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it.

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/events

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Produced & Edited by Simon Cardwell
Music by Andy Maxwell

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