In this week’s RBP podcast, Mark Pringle and Barney Hoskyns consider the enduring influence of soul giant Curtis Mayfield with special guest (and RBP co-founder) Martin Colyer (in the middle, with a framed Mario Testino shot of Princess Di, part of Martin’s “rider” for appearing on the podcast… don’t ask).
The trio also hear a snippet of Julian Henry’s 1985 audio interview with the absurd Sigue Sigue Sputnik – and talk about how Tony James and co. crashed down to earth despite their stratospheric ambitions. There’s a brief discussion of pieces by featured writer Mac Randall on Robert Wyatt & Bill Nelson, Linda Thompson and Beck, leading on to a rundown of what’s new in the archive for the subscribers, led by chief archivist Mark Pringle: specifically, articles on Del Shannon, Diana Ross, Keith Richards, Vivian Stanshall, Andrew Weatherall and Missy Elliot, as well as a lengthy feature on the drug Ketamine from 1976.
Martin, Mark and Barney then take a journey back in time to the origins of Rock’s Backpages itself, explaining how the idea for the archive originated… and what steps they took together to make it a reality.