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For this episode we're joined all the way from San Francisco by Barry Walters to discuss his new history of LGBTQ music. And in our first recording since the retirement of Mark Pringle, William Pike becomes an official co-host of the RBP podcast... Barry reflects on his upbringing in Rochester, N.Y., his move to New York City, and his early writing for the Village Voice. We then hear about his years as pop critic for the San Francisco Examiner and the inspiration of gay disco icon Sylvester. Along the way our guest touches on some of the other artists he writes about in Mighty Real, including the Village People, k.d. lang and Grace Jones. We hear clips from Richard Cook's 1985 audio interview with the amazing Grace and discuss her unique contribution to LGBTQ culture. After William mentions a recently-added library piece about Ray Davies (1977), prompting a discussion of the Kinks' watershed hit 'Lola', Jasper talks us out with his thoughts on Kylie Minogue (2011) and his deep reverence for Spanish superstar Rosalía (from whose O2 show the previous evening he is still reeling...). Many thanks to special guest Barry Walters. Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969–2000 is published by Viking and available now from all good bookshops. Visit Barry's website at barrywalterswriter.com. Pieces discussed: Grace Jones audio interview (1985), Ray Davies live at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Kylie Minogue: The Albums 2000–2010 and Rosalía: Lux.

For this episode we're joined by not one but two very special guests to talk about one of the great music cities. Penny Kiley is the former pop columnist for the Liverpool Echo, contributed regularly to Melody Maker and has just published the superb memoir Atypical Girl. Paul Du Noyer, meanwhile, wrote beautifully for the NME in its glory years and edited both Q and MOJO; he is also the author of 2002's exceptional Liverpool: Wondrous Place. We ask our guests about everything from the Beatles to Frankie Goes to Hollywood via Eric's, the Real Thing and the "crucial three" of Pete Wylie, Julian Cope and Ian McCulloch. We also hear riveting clips from Simon Garfield's 1999 audio interview with (Sir) Paul McCartney. After paying tribute to NME legend Keith Altham, Mark quotes from interviews with Miami soul star Betty Wright (1977) and Southern country-rocker Charlie Daniels (1979). Finally, Jasper rounds things off with his thoughts on Terris – apparently "the best new band in Britain" (2000). Many thanks to special guests Penny Kiley and Paul Du Noyer. You can find Penny's music writing on her Substack at pennykiley.substack.com; Atypical Girl is published by Polygon and available from all good bookshops. Find Paul's writing and details of his books online at pauldunoyer.com. Pieces discussed: Beatles Find Show Biz Isn't All Fun, The Real Thing haven't souled out, Liverpool's Cream: Bag Company, Articles, interviews and reviews from Penny Kiley, The Teardrop Explodes: Teardrops Rising, Eric's: An Undignified Death, Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Royal Court, Liverpool, Paul McCartney audio, Betty Wright, Charlie Daniels' million-dollar miles and Make way for Terris — the best new band in Britain.

In this episode we welcome back the marvellous Adele Bertei — five years after she first guested on our show — to talk about her amazing new book No New York. Beginning with a definition of the postpunk sub-genre "No Wave", the former Contortion recalls her experience of living in Manhattan's perilous East Village in the late '70s and playing organ behind the unhinged James Chance. She also pays tribute to the many fearless women who "shaped the scene", first and foremost the formidable Lydia Lunch. Our guest recalls working as a go-fer for Brian Eno and then being a crucial part of the No New York album the former Roxy Musician oversaw in 1978. We hear not just about Chance's Contortions and Lunch's Teenage Jesus & the Jerks but about Mars, DNA, the Bush Tetras and finally Adele's own funky feminist troupe the Bloods. After collective reflections on No Wave's slow dissolution — and Adele's subsequent '80s adventures with the likes of Thomas Dolby — Barney and Jasper rave about the week's featured artist Robyn and the week's featured audio, in which the late Chip Taylor reminisces about such classic hit songs as 'Wild Thing' and 'Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)'. Finally, Mark quotes appropriately from a 1978 Talking Heads interview and Jasper enjoys a Caroline Sullivan diss of Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP from 2000. Many thanks to special Adele Bertei. No New York: A Memoir of No Wave and the Women Who Shaped the Scene is published by Faber and available now. Pieces discussed: Nobody Waved Goodbye: Bands At Artists Space, Brian Eno's No New York compilation, Sons and Daughters of No New York: DNA, Robyn: Blonde Ambition, Robyn, Röyksopp: "There's This Idea That You're An Oddball, Far Up At The Top Of The World", Robyn: Brixton Academy, London, Chip Taylor audio, The Talking Heads sing more songs about buildings and food⁠, Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP and It's no wonder Dylan didn't take the fight to Beijing — he was never very political.

For this episode we invite the very entertaining Jimmy McDonough to join us — all the way from Portland, Oregon — and discuss his career as "the king of the crazy biographers". Our guest explains how he moved (back) to New York from Indiana in the '80s and how he got his foot in the door at the Village Voice with a 1988 profile of country singer Gary Stewart, the subject of his new book. We then hear about the long and painful saga of his extraordinary Neil Young biography Shakey (2002) — and his singular approach to the biographical trade. Clips from Amy Linden's 1995 audio interview with Al Green give us the opportunity to ask Jimmy about his 2017 biography of the Reverend Green, after which we finally get to the 40-year gestation of I Am from the Honky Tonks and the story of his obsession with his doomed honky-tonk hero. He explains why the book felt like a mission and why Gary Stewart could and should have been a country superstar. After Mark quotes from featured writer John Morthland's review of the Monterey Pop Festival (with a namecheck for the late Country Joe McDonald) and from a 1975 interview with Tammy Wynette – another of our guest's biographical subjects — Jasper wraps things up with remarks on the Australian Folk Bitch Trio and the man who manages Yungblud (and "eats challenges for breakfast"). Many thanks to special guest Jimmy McDonough. Gary Stewart: I Am from the Honky-Tonks is published by Wolf+Salmon and available for pre-order now. Pieces discussed: Why did Neil Young try to squelch Shakey?, Gary Stewart: Honky-Tonk Puree, Gary Stewart: Out of Hand, John Morthland articles, Monterey International Pop Music Festival, Three Dog Night: Why Do The Underground Put Us Down?, Tammy Wynette, "I Eat Challenges For Breakfast": Yungblud's Manager Tommas Arnby and Folk Bitch Trio. 

For this episode we welcome former Q/Kerrang! editor-in-chief Paul Rees to RBP Towers to discuss his riveting new book Raised on Radio: Power Ballads, Cocaine & Payola. An oral history of AOR (or Album-Oriented Rock), Raised on Radio gives us an eagerly-awaited chance to enthuse about an oft-maligned genre we all happen to adore. The conversation takes in most of AOR's major practitioners, from Kansas and Toto to Journey and Survivor, and incorporates clips from John Tobler's 1979 audio interview with Tom Scholz and Brad Delp of Boston. After we've exhausted these guilty-till-proved-innocent pleasures, Mark quotes from newly-added library pieces about Siouxsie & the Banshees (1982) and Chic's Bernard Edwards (1987), then Jasper talks us out with his reflections on archive interviews with George Clinton (1997) and Brutalist composer Daniel Blumberg (2025). Many thanks to special guest Paul Rees. Raised on Radio is published by Constable and available now from all good bookshops. Pieces discussed: More Than a Feeling: The 20 Greatest AOR Tracks of All Time!, American revolution: Aerosmith, Boston, Kansas and co., Hard Pop, Suburban Rock, Hall & Oates: Blue-Eyed Philadelphia Soul, The Buzz On Boz Scaggs, Nirvana: Smells like Success, Boston (1979), Heart, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Bernard Edwards, George Clinton: Funkamental and The Brutalist's score.