Radio Days Book Club

From the archive. As France attempts to win a third World Cup this month, I thought back to this great interview with Matthew Spiro, telling the inside story of their first two wins, in 1998 and 2018 - a story that illuminates French society and politics, and worlds far beyond the touchline.  When France won the World Cup in 1998, it was meant to be the start of a golden age for the team and the c...

Andy McGrath, former winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award, has written the first biography of four-times Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar. As Pogacar begins his defence of the title in Barcelona (and Andy's paperback comes out), Andy explains the unique Slovenian sporting culture that produced him; why it's no surprise that all-time speed records are constantly b...

ITV Tour de France commentator and general polymath Matt Rendell joins me to discuss some things that never make it into our live talk shows. Why is ITV like the social services? Did Matt really sell his house to finance one of his books (and, if so, why?) Was/is Marco Pantani Italy's Princess Diana? How come nobody knows the actual route of this year's Tour de France? Why is Matt curren...

Lesley-Ann Jones discusses The Stone Age, her biography of the self-styled greatest rock'n'roll band in the world. Lesley-Ann Jones interviewed hundreds of insiders and eye witnesses to create the biography. As a friend of Bill Wyman in the 80s, she was curious to investigate further the emotional chaos the band has left in its wake - as well as to detail how a group of white suburban ki...

Kevin Mulrennan has compiled a 700-page encyclopaedia of ITV's 60s pop show Thank Your Lucky Stars. He joins us to recall great lost moments of the Beatles - as well as the stars who burned brightly but briefly.

Baxter Dury joined us at a live event in Chiswick, to discuss his new memoir, Chaise Longue. Now an acclaimed musician in his own right, Baxter recalls a seemingly chaotic 70s and 80s childhood, growing up as the son of pop star and national treasure Ian Dury. Baxter's tales of avoiding school and seeking instead a demi-monde of Dickensian characters and misadventures are at once dark and fun...

Nick Lowe and Will Birch joined me at a live event at the Seven Dials Club to discuss Cruel to be Kind, Will's biography of Nick. Nick reflects on dealings with Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello and, well, Peters and Lee, why 1962 was the most important year in pop and how he hit upon the style used in his acclaimed late-career albums, Will muses on how pub rock led to punk and, hav...

Alex Kemp discusses his book Here is Greece, the story of a five-year tour, taking in rebel music bars in Athens, octogenarian shepherds in the far-flung outposts and a world of chance and bizarre encounters along the way. For more info on the book (and a free sample): https://worldofkemp.wordpress.com/portfolio/here-is-greece / Alex's Greek music playlist is at this link .

BAFTA-winning actor, comedian and impressionist Julian Dutton was born and raised on a houseboat, moored on the Thames at Chelsea. In a Saturday morning tour de force of social history and showbiz tales, Julian discusses Water Gypsies, his new book on the history of Britain's river-dwellers, from the hardmen of canalmania to post-War bohemians - and throws in a few brilliant impressions - Joh...

Behind the UK's 50s and 60s rock and pop revolution was a group of gay impresarios, many of whom were good friends; from Larry Parnes (who mentored Billy Fury and Tommy Steele) to Brian Epstein, who made the Beatles the biggest group in the world, to Joe Meek, who made No 1 records in his house. Author Darryl Bullock takes us into their backstage world in his new book, 'The Velvet Mafia:...

An edited version of our summer Zoomcast with Emily Chappell. Emily is the author of the acclaimed What Goes Around (about life as a London bike courier) and Where There's a Will (about her 4000km unassisted ride across Europe in the Transcontinental cycle race). What Goes Around shows a new side to familiar city life, taking us inside the couriers' world,  seen by everyone and known by...

From the archive:  When France won the World Cup in 1998, it was meant to be the start of a golden age for the team and the country; and the success of the multi-racial squad did, briefly, unite the country. But the 20 years between that victory and the 2018 triumph showed that France needed more than football to bring it together… British journalist and broadcaster Matthew Spiro's "Sacr...

Tom Benjamin's debut novel 'A Quiet Death in Italy" was published this summer to acclaim from the Daily Mail, the Morning Star and all points between. It's a murder mystery, following ex-pat English detective Daniel Leicester as he descends into the Bologna underworld to investigate the death of a 1970s radical. Tom worked at Scotland Yard before emigrating to Italy and learned...

Comedian Ian Stone tells us how grim growing up in Britain could be in the 1970s - and how hearing The Jam for the first time changed his life. In a highly entertaining interview, Ian also discusses other memorable gigs of his youth, including The Clash, Sham 69 and Dexy's Midnight Runners. Ian's memoir, 'To Be Someone' is published by Unbound.

For six years, Scott Innes has been writing the Galactic Keegan Twitter account, imagining a dystopian future in which the England football legend Kevin Keegan is running a football academy in outer space. Now, Scott has written Galactic Keegan, the novel, a mix of sci-fi adventure and pin-sharp football jokes. Scott now gets mistaken for Keegan regularly and has had interest from a very famous ac...

The longtime Cycling Correspondent of The Guardian newspaper, launch editor of Procycling magazine and author of biographies of Tom Simpson, Eddy Merckx and Fausto Coppi discusses his life as a cycling writer (and fan) , including his most recent works, 'Sunday in Hell: Behind the Lens of the Greatest Cycling Film of All Time' and 'The Greatest: The Times and Life of Beryl Burton&ap...

We explore one of the biggest sports stories of the last 30 years: how did British cyclists come from nowhere to dominate their sport so completely, on both track and road?  Author Kenny Pryde claims that, between its Olympic and Tour de France successes, Team GB/Team Sky have been the most successful team in the history of sport.  How did that happen? And what about the question marks that have e...