Mike Rutherford looks back at 60 years onstage and the art of cheap rock theatre

This one starts with memories of Genesis at Farnborough Tech in 1972 – Batwings? Fox heads? - looks back at school bands and the early ‘70s and ends with the current Mike & the Mechanics tour. But it mostly centres on the first live shows Mike Rutherford ever saw and played which features … … his mum making him wash the Brylcreem from his hair before seeing Cliff & the Shadows when he was 17. … buying an electric guitar before you realised it needed an amplifier. … playing the same theatres he played with Genesis when he was 19. … Cream at the Marquee Club - “the volume was like an atom bomb!” … supporting Mott the Hoople at Farx in Southall, “the moment I felt we were getting somewhere”. … the contract for their £7 fee he still has for Genesis on the Eel Pie Island, “like ancient fading parchment”. … the non-competitive days of Yes, King Crimson, Rare Bird and the rock underground when there was room for everyone. … making an album in three days with Jonathan King in Regent Sound (where the Stones recorded). … Peter Gabriel developing his on-stage theatre because no-one could hear the words. … ‘Man up!’ Note to self after breaking a hip skiing with his grandchildren. Mike & the Mechanics tour dates and tickets:https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/mike-the-mechanics-tickets/artist/1673635 Pre-order Looking Back: Living The Years here:https://found.ee/MikeATM_LBLTYFind out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Mark Ellen and David Hepworth have been talking about and writing about music together and individually for a collective eighty years in magazines like Smash Hits, Mojo and The Word and on radio and TV programmes like "Rock On", "Whistle Test" and VH-1.Over thirteen years ago, when working on the late magazine The Word, they began producing podcasts. Some listeners have been kind enough to say these have been very special to them. When the magazine folded in 2012 they kept the spirit of those podcasts alive in regular Word In Your Ear evenings in which they spoke to musicians and authors in front of an audience. Over these years they've produced hundreds of hours of material. As of the Current Unpleasantness of 2020, they've produced yet hundreds of hours more with a little help from guests kind enough to digitally show them around their attics such as Danny Baker, Andy Partridge, Sir Tim Rice and Mark Lewisohn. For the full span of the Word In Your Ear world, visit wiyelondon.com. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.