Join us & celebrate the 40th anniversary of Live Aid which took place on July 13th 1985. And to do that we are joined by John Kennedy, one of the original trustees of the Band Aid Trust.

One morning in November 1984 John was surprised when his office door flung open & Bob Geldof walked in. Insisting that John gave him one hour of his time, it led to a lifelong commitment.

Following unprecedented attention from the media & the public, Bob Geldof decides he has to put on a concert, eventually it is decided this will take place not only in London but also in Philadelphia on the same day.

Some were easier to persuade than others, but the star studded lineup at Wembley Stadium eventually includes Elton John, Queen, U2, George Michael, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, The Who & of course Status Quo.

Phil Collins performs at both shows after travelling on Concorde & John himself ends up in the Royal Box with princess Diana.

Join us to find out how this all unfolded from someone who was there from the very beginning & continues to be involved on a daily basis today.

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/live/

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

Blue Sky: @musicmaps.bsky.social

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Written, Edited & Produced by Simon Cardwell

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

Join us for a live episode of Music Maps Podcast with John Robb recorded live at the Walthamstow Trades Hall.

We are also joined this week by James from The Oasis Podcast & Sam Shiner to discuss the return of Oasis last week in Cardiff & the 2025 tour.

John takes us through the highlights from his new book Live Forever: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Oasis we start back in the 70s with the Gallagher brother’s childhood in Manchester.

Eventually settling in Burnage, Noel Gallagher finds a guitar lying around the house & learns to play it while beginning to pick up Greatest Hits compilations from local record shop Sifters, listening to the Beatles, Slade, The Jam, The Smiths & the Sex Pistols.

Acid House is another key influence & Noel begins to frequent the Hacienda but its a gig at the International 2 featuring James & the Stone Roses which becomes key as younger brother Liam also attends & subsequently joins local band The Rain, founded by Paul Arthurs (AKA Bonehead).

Meanwhile Noel Gallagher is touring the world working for the Inspiral Carpets & is amazed to hear Liam has joined a band asap till then he had expressed no interest in music.

After attending an early gig Noel eventually joins the re-named Oasis & the band rehearse diligently at the Boardwalk in Manchester.

Alan McGee famously spots Oasis at King Tut’s Way Way Hut in Glasgow in 1993 & manager Marcus Russell enters the equation via Johnny Marr.

After the buzz created by the Columbia white label demo, Supersonic becomes the first single in the spring of 1994.

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/live/

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

Blue Sky: @musicmaps.bsky.social

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted by Mark Hard & Simon Cardwell

Written, Edited & Produced by Simon Cardwell

Recorded by Rob Donnelly-Jackson

Recorded at the Walthamstow Trades Hall

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

Stuart Maconie is well known as the host of The Freak Zone on BBC Radio, he has written for NME, The Times, The Guardian & many more.

His books have been widely published & include Long Road From Jarrow, The Nanny State Made Me, Cider With Roadies & Pies & Prejudice.

His new book is published by HarperNorth - With a Little Help From Their Friends - The Beatles Changed the World. but Who Changed Theirs?

We discuss a number of people who have an impact on the Beatles lives & career, from the more obvious such as Brian Epstein or George Martin to the obscure including John Mustard (of Mean Mr. Mustard fame) & Harry Graves (Ringo Starr’s stepdad who bought him his first drum kit).

We touch on the many former members of the Beatles - some more well known such as Pete Best & Stuart Sutcliffe, and some less familiar such as early bassist Chas Newby & Tommy Moore who skipped a Beatles gig to fulfil a shift at Garston Bottle Works.

Others such as temporary drummer Jimmie Nicol were unable to move on from their brief tenure with the band while others such as photographer Astrid Kircherr were forever linked with the Beatles.

There are those who let the band slip through their fingers such as Allan Williams & Dick Rowe as well as those that stayed loyal to the Fab Four such as fan club founder Freda Kelly.

Find out about the £5 flat fee Ivor Arbiter received for designing the iconic Beatles logo still used today or the £200 received by Sgt. Pepper cover designer Peter Blake.

Another curio is George Harrison’s 1963 visit to the US to visit his sister Louise - the only time a Beatle would visit the country without being treated like a superstar.

A handful of people have received a credit on a Beatles track including Billy Preston who the band had met back in Hamburg & who joined them for the Get Back sessions as seen in the documentary.

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/live/

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

Blue Sky: @musicmaps.bsky.social

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted, Written, Edited & Produced by Simon Cardwell

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