E199: Phil Sutcliffe on Sounds + Gang of Four + Eric Clapton

Listen to this episode from Rock's Backpages on Spotify. For this episode we're joined by veteran music scribe Phil Sutcliffe to discuss his years on Sounds, Q and MOJO. We start by hearing about our guest's Beatles-obsessed adolescence in the North London suburb of Barnet, then follow him up to Manchester University and his subsequent apprenticeship on the Newcastle Evening Chronicle. Phil explains how he got his foot in the door at Sounds in 1974, initially reviewing gigs on Tyneside before moving back to London to become one of the weekly magazine's key '70s writers. We discuss the paper's transition from Gentle Giant and Back Street Crawler to the Damned and the Sex Pistols — and to the interviews Phil did with County Durham punks Penetration and beloved Salford bard John Cooper Clarke.  From JCC's visit to the Oxford Poetry Festival in 1980, we turn our attention to the week's featured act — politicised post-punks Gang of Four — and thence to the more controversially reactionary Eric Clapton. Clips from John Hutchinson's 1981 audio interview with the guitar "God" prompt conversation about his musical evolution and the infamous 1976 outburst that inspired the launch of Rock Against Racism. After Mark quotes from newly-added library pieces about Joe Harriott (1964), Miles Davis (1969) and Al Green (1973), Jasper takes us out with his thoughts on articles about Courtney Love (1991), Snoop Dogg (2003) and Cardi B (2019). Please note that this episode was recorded before we learned of the very sad passings of former Gang Of Four bassist Dave Allen and Malian superstar Amadou Bagayoko — along with Phil Sutcliffe's fellow Sounds contributor Sandy Robertson. Many thanks to special guest Phil Sutcliffe. Pieces discussed: The Beatles: I Was A Beatlemaniac, Penetration: Anarchy In County Durham, The Bard Of Beasley Street At The Seat Of Learning, Gang of Four: Dialectics Meet Disco, Gang Of Four: The Revolution Lightens Up, Andy Gill meets Andy Gill, Eric Clapton audio, Eric Clapton: Out of the Darkness, Joe Harriott: Jazz Abstractionist, Miles Davis: In a Silent Way, Hole: Calling the Tune, Snoop Dogg and Welcome to the Cardi Party.