Misadventures in Music with Ian Prowse & Mick Ord Urbanista Magazine

Looking back, the early seventies can seem like a strange time musically in the UK and perhaps nowhere more so than Merseyside. 



The NEXT BIG THING that we were all waiting for following the break-up of The Beatles hadn't emerged and a wide range of musical styles proliferated in the local pub and club scene.For a few years before 1977, Supercharge and Deaf School were leading the pack of bands tipped for bigger things.

The former, led by the charismatic saxophonist Albie Donnelly played to packed audiences everywhere - their blues/rock/funk fusion going down well with club and college audiences.

Signed by Virgin Records they had hit albums and singles in Australia and famously supported Queen at Hyde Park in front of an estimated 150-200,00 people.  The band's on-stage humour and antics were also a huge hit with audiences as anyone who saw them live will testify.

Albie Donnelly's Supercharge is still going great guns in Germany and Holland and the 77 year old scouser has lost none of his passion for music or his wit, as Ian Prowse and Mick Ord discovered when they met up with him in the Liverpool Podcafe for the latest , unforgettable Misadventures in Music.

There can't be too many songwriters who've released albums which have been so universally praised by the critics and yet have had to wait 40 years for the equivalent commercial success but then Mick Head has never been one to follow a predictable career path.

His previous bands The Pale Fountains and Shack certainly had a strong "cult" following (admittedly including the likes of Noel Gallagher) but it was only with last year's "Dear Scott" that Michael Head & the Red Elastic Band converted critical to commercial success with such aplomb.

At times it's been a rocky road for Mick Head but the future certainly looks bright with the release of his new album 'Loophole' in May and a long awaited autobiography 'Ciao,Ciao Bambino' out in 2025.

Ian Prowse and Mick Ord met up with Mick Head in the Liverpool Podcafe for a long-awaited and much anticipated 'Misadventures in Music'

Paul Simpson's band The Wild Swans burned briefly and brightly in the flourishing Merseyside music scene of the early eighties.  They had one celebrated single in the indie charts but disbanded acrimoniously having failed to replicate the commercial success of their contemporaries like Teardrop Explodes, Echo and the Bunnymen, OMD, China Crisis, Dead Or Alive and  Wah! .

They say the best stories can always be found in the corners and around the edges of life and Paul's book 'Revolutionary Spirit - A Post-Punk Exorcism' is a case in point. It's a classic of its kind...highly praised by book critics and musicians such as Will Sergent and Bill Drummond. Which won't come as a surprise to people who know him because Paul's a born storyteller.

 'Revolutionary Spirit' tells us what it's really like to be in a band, but it's also an authentic slice of social history of life from a vibrant music scene with a seemingly endless list of larger-than-life characters.

And plenty of genuinely laugh-out-loud moments. Paul's tells his story in the new episode of the Misadventures in Music podcast with Ian Prowse and Mick Ord.

There aren't many writers around who can look back on their career and say they've interviewed as many top musicians as Paul du Noyer.

The Liverpool-born author and music journalist boasts as impressive a list as anyone from the past 40 + years - Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Amy Winehouse and Dusty Springfield to name just a few.

He's also written definitive books about the music culture of his home city as well as that of London, a place where he's spent much time writing and editing iconic magazines such as NME, Q and MOJO.

Paul du Noyer is Ian Prowse and Mick Ord's wonderful guest in this episode of Misadventures in Music which was recorded by our friends at The Podcafe in Liverpool.

Bass-playing singer Billy Kinsley is one of the last surviving stalwarts from the Merseybeat era when Liverpool bands were topping the charts on a regular basis.

He started playing in bands at the age of 14 and in the Sixties went on to form The Merseybeats and The Merseys. 

In the Seventies, he founded Liverpool Express, went on tour with Rod Stewart and played alongside Chuck Berry – neither experience he remembers with any joy whatsoever!

Paul McCartney cited "You Are My Love" as one of his favourite love songs and Billy performed to massive crowds in Brazil where they were hugely popular.

Billy looks back with his customary scouse humour on a sparkling
career spanning 60 years, with Ian Prowse and Mick Ord, in episode 19 of this really special Misadventures in Music podcast.

 Enjoy.



Here's a link to the playlist:



https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Fn0GyotpWKV4ZIcMDAVMg?si=c282854fffc84be7

Nobody embodies the spirit of Rock n Roll more than Little Richard.

It could be argued that his whole career was a misadventure in music so he's THE perfect subject for our latest podcast. Our
guest is the much-respected author/broadcaster, Spencer Leigh, whose biography of the man himself, Send Me Some Lovin', is out now.

Born Richard Wayne Penniman, Little Richard claimed he invented rock'n' roll.  He didn't, but his songs - Tutti Frutti, Lucille, Good Golly Miss Molly and many more - changed the rock 'n' roll landscape forever.

He was a huge influence on the Beatles, Hendrix and Prince and he lived his life as though he was continually on stage. There really was no one like Little Richard."



find out more here:   http://www.spencerleigh.co.uk/