Banned Biographies

After disbanding Adam and the Ants at the height of the band's success, Adam Ant went solo. Working with Marco Pirroni, his first solo single, Goody Two Shoes went straight to number one in the UK and Australia which allowed him to pursue a career in acting both on stage and screen. As with the first part of his career with The Ants, Adam's solo career has had many ups and downs over the years - b...

There have been some really wonderful bits of feedback from the interview episodes with Louise Aubrie and Rick McMurray with people checking out Louise’s music which I’m really happy about. The second single off Louise’s album 'Antonio' is out on Wednesday 23rd June (two days from this episode going live). Called 'Ours', it's a slightly darker song in tone from 'Last', but is another masterfully a...

On this extra-special episode of Banned Biographies I was very lucky to chat over Zoom with Rick McMurray, the drummer from Ash. Ash's first full-length album, 1977, was release 25 years ago and went straight to number one on the UK album chart. To commemorate that, Ash is playing the album in its entirety on the 5th June 2021 which you can sign up to watch through the band’s website https://ash-o...

On this episode of the Banned Biographies podcast I sat down over Zoom to interview punk and indie inspired solo artist Louise Aubrie. Louise is from London, where she began writing and recording music, playing in venues like the 100 Club and the O2 Centre. Since then she has lived in New York City where she continued to hone her craft becoming a regular in venues like The Bitter End and The Bower...

One month on from the release of the first episode of the Banned Biographies podcast that covers the early days of Adam Ant's career in Adam and the Ants, I'm back to cover some of the reaction to the episode and to let you know what the next episode will be about. Additionally, I give you a run down of some of the great music that's been released in the last month including singles from Frank Car...

Adam and the Ants was formed in 1977, after Adam Ant witnessed the birth of punk at the Sex Pistols' first ever gig. Beginning as a punk band that sang about fetishism and Nazis while wearing leather and S&M gear, Adam and the Ants found it difficult to achieve credibility both in punk circles or in the mainstream. To rectify this, Ant went to Malcolm McLaren for advice and it was during this time...

I'm back to let you know what's been happening here at Banned Biographies in the last month and to introduce the subject of the next documentary episode. Yes, I'm returning to the documentary format for the next episode! As well as reaction the the Stepney Sisters interview, it also happens to be the podcast's first birthday and I've had a lot of messages from listeners to congratulate and celebra...

On this episode of Banned Biographies, I sat down over Zoom to interview Caroline and Benni from The Stepney Sisters. Theirs is a brilliant story of university friends who joined a soul band as singers in the early 1970s, moved into squats London, met some like-minded women involved in the women’s liberation movement and decided to start an all-female band so they could have complete control over...

I’ve had some great feedback on the Paul Brightman interview over the last month. I even got a comment from the drummer in Paul’s band, Swampstomper, who was surprised by a couple of details in the interview despite having known Paul for years. That’s great to hear from an interviewer’s point of view because it means I was asking the right questions. Speaking of which, I did a massive shoutout to...

This is the second Banned Biographies Interview episode with Paul Brightman of Sham 69, Swampstomer and (almost) Chelsea. During the episode, Paul talks about his introductions to music and playing in bands, juvenile delinquency, politics – both in bands as well as in the wider world – the pros and cons of touring and his hopes for the future both with his own project, Swampstomper, and with Sham...

I'm back to catch up with what's been happening since last month's episode about The Slits went out , give some shout outs to new followers as well as those that have been interacting, as well as highlight some other podcasts - both music-based and not - that I'm listening to and you might also like, and tell you what the subject of the next episode will be . While you're waiting for the next epis...

The Slits are one of the most significant female punk bands of the late 1970s. Not only did they bravely (or foolishly) leap into the fray with little, if any, musical ability, but through sheer emotion and desire created some great music, setting the stage for a future generation of Riot Grrrls. Their success seems on a par with a band like The Velvet Underground’s in the 1960s. Neither bands sol...

I'm back to catch up with what's been happening since the Christmas Day episode went out where I interviewed the guys from the Pete Shelley Memorial Campaign, give some shout outs and tell you what band will be the subject of the next episode, which will be a return to the regular documentary format. As ever, I hope you're doing well. 2020 was a hell of a year and 2021 has started off in much the...

In a change to our regular programming, instead of a documentary about an iconic band this month, I bring you the first in what I hope will be a regular feature of the podcast peppered between the documentaries. In this episode I sat down over Zoom to chat with Paul Lally, Paul Banks and Ellie Porter from the Pete Shelley Memorial Campaign. Lally set the group up two years ago after Shelley passed...

Welcome back to Banned Biographies, I'm back to cover some of the reaction to the Teenage Kicks: The Story of The Undertones episode, give some shout-outs and to let you know that the next episode will be a very different affair. Instead of a documentary episode I've conducted my first interview for the show. You may remember during the Love Bites: The Story of Buzzcocks episode that I mentioned t...

It all started on a two-week camping trip in County Donegal, Northern Ireland in August 1974. Friends Michael Bradley, Billy Doherty and brothers Vince and John O’Neill decided they wanted to start a band. The group had existed as an idea for about six months in the minds of John, Vince and Billy. For a while, the unnamed group hade no instruments with which to practice, so there were no songs eit...

Welcome back to Banned Biographies, I'm back to cover some of the reaction to London Calling: The History of The Clash episode, give some shout outs, announce the winners of the Joe Strummer badge giveaway with Pin Icons and to let you know that the next episode will be about Northern Ireland's originators of pop punk, The Undertones! I seem to have lost a week somewhere this month, hence this epi...

The Clash are so much more than simply a punk band, they infused elements of reggae, dub and later R&B and rap which marked them out as unique in a sea of Sex Pistols soundalikes that were springing up in Britain in the late 1970s. They were also the most genuinely political bands of the original wave of UK punk. While the Sex Pistols’ debut gig at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall has been ackn...

So, there wasn't a main episode last month, but that doesn't mean I wasn't busy. In this short preview episode I tell you a little about what's gone on this month including getting on two UK radio stations, figuring out that there have been more iTunes reviews than I realised, and the chance for three lucky listeners to win a limited edition Joe Strummer enamel pin badge from Pin Icons (@PinIcons...

Welcome back to Banned Biographies, I'm back to cover some of the reaction to the Love Bites: The Story of Buzzcocks episode, give some shout-outs and to let you know that the next episode will be about my favourite of all the original UK punk bands, The Clash! It should be out on Friday, 25th September 2020. But, i's easily going to be the longest episode to date and I'm not far into the editing....

One day in 1975 Howard Trafford placed a notice on the Bolton Institute of Technology's noticeboard saying he was looking for musicians that shared a liking for The Velvet Underground song "Sister Ray". Peter McNeish, a fellow student at the Institute, responded to the notice. The pair travelled to London to see the Sex Pistols play and were so impressed and excited by what they'd seen they invite...

Welcome back to Banned Biographies, I'm back again cover some of the reaction to The Scream: The Spellbinding Siouxsie and the Banshees episode, give some shout-outs and to let you know that the next episode will be about the first non-London band; Buzzcocks!   I can't wait for you to hear it and, as it stands right now, it'll be out on Friday, 28th August 2020. But, life is slowly returning to no...

It was Malcolm McLaren who provided Susan Ballion and Steven Bailey the opportunity to form a band when he asked if they knew any bands who might want to support the Sex Pistols at the 100 Club at his Punk Festival on 16 September 1976 as an act had pulled out at the last minute. "To say no would have been impossible".   Ballion had already renamed herself Siouxsie Sioux by this time and Bailey (t...

Welcome back to Banned Biographies, I'm back to quickly cover some of the reaction to the Rebel Yell: The History of Generation X and Billy Idol episode, give some shout-outs and to let you know that the next episode will be about Siouxsie and the Banshees!   I can't wait for you to hear it, however, it may not be with you this coming Friday, 31st July 2020 as things have been a bit hectic these l...

In late 1976, William Broad, a 21 year old university drop-out, and his friend John Towe, a shop assistant and drummer, replied to an advert to form a new band. In this band (Chelsea) they began working with Tony James and Gene October. However, James and Broad - now known as Billy Idol - soon outgrew Chelsea and formed their own band, Generation X. Just days later, the pair, along with Towe and y...