Straight Up

We've got another culture fix for you this week gang, from why LSD and magic mushrooms are good for you (they could have even stopped the Vietnam war!) to the novel everyone is talking about, and Hollywood's latest controversy. Have you seen or read Where The Crawdad's Sing? Well hunnies, strap in for a wild ride covering the unfortunate miscasting of Daisy Edgar Jones, the real-life murder allega...

This week’s guest might just be our most favourite ever, not least because he carried our mics for us after this interview – how cute is that?! You guys are going to LOVE Bradley Simpson, frontman of The Vamps, as much as we do, as we dig deep in this wide-ranging chat covering everything from what it was like to become famous as a teenager in one of the biggest bands in British pop history (fun f...

As promised gang, we've got a third instalment of our chat covering what it's really like to be a celebrity journalist – there were, after all, just too many hilarious, ridiculous stories (and actual analysis!) left out of the first two parts. From liaising with celebs directly via text to today’s thorny issue of copy approval, we look at how celeb journalism has changed since we burst onto t...

It’s another glorious sunny Thursday and we have singer songwriter extraordinaire James Bay in the house! He has a brand new album out, Leap, which is all about his journey overcoming imposter syndrome and mental health struggles – despite his eight billion streams. He opened up to us about how he was affected by the more toxic aspects of fame and social media, and *cuteness overload* how his part...

Hello gorgeous listeners, this week we’re taking you to the Maldives! And, guys, it’s not just any private island hotel, it’s The Standard, our absolute fave for fun with friends, strong cocktails and enticing dancefloors (if you’ve not yet been to the Kings Cross outpost then consider this your PSA).  Recently we took ourselves away for a best friend baecation and we feel it is our public du...

Hi huns! This week we caught up with one of the UK's best-loved rappers and one of our fave musicians Krept, half of duo Krept & Konan, to talk about his incredible journey from making chart-topping rap songs to launching his game-changing baby skincare range Nala's Baby, stocked across 400 Boots stores and valued at £15m. Yep, rappers do babycare! Named after his ADORABLE two-year-old daughte...

Back by popular demand, this week we embarrass ourselves once again by sharing more of our juiciest stories about the fame game, from the time we accidentally made a top Hollywood actor cry and how one wilts in Naomi Campbell's presence, to herding Richard Branson around Soho Farmhouse and how you navigate a phone call from Lady Gaga. There's also plenty of intel on how the celebrity machine actua...

Honeys, we’re home!!! Did you miss us? We had not forgotten you – in fact over the last few months we’ve been working SO hard to bring you the biggest and best season of Straight Up yet, fuelled by our spiciest trademark margs, obv. And doing the launch honours for us today is none other than the ICON that is Sean Paul, one of the world’s most successful artists who has billions of streams to his...

From the song that soundtracked her first dance with a boy to her bad bitch breakup anthem, Maya Jama shares the music that means the most to her in this extremely cute episode. We also chatted about Maya's struggles with imposter syndrome and finding a work life balance after three years of no holidays, her ambitions to get more women behind the camera, her funniest radio fails and her top ti...

It’s the last episode of S2 and, as sad as we are, we’re SO excited to be ending on a high with  this very special chat with one of our favourite artists, Mahalia. Fuelled by some gorgeous Whitley Neill gin and tonics, the 23-year-old, who was signed at 13, gets candid about everything from the myth of the overnight success story, to reframing the “crazy ex-girlfriend” trope and being friends...

No guest again this week, gang, but what we’ve got in store might just be even better! Instead, we chat all about the hottest cultural gossip of the year so far, from music, TV and film, to the biggest talking points that have had the internet in overdrive over the past week. Covering *that* Molly Mae interview on Steven Bartlett’s podcast, The Lost Daughter (Netflix’s most exciting new film) and...

We've got a real Christmas treat for you this week: a hilarious, insightful, thought-provoking interview from Dan Smith of Bastille. Eased along by some red wine, Dan spills the beans on what it's really like to be the frontman of one of the world's biggest bands – 11 million records sold and counting – while also having made the conscious choice to keep as far from the public eye as possible, eve...

Our guest today is HRVY, the 22-year-old pop sensation and former Strictly semi-finalist who is basically the British, Gen-Z answer to Justin Bieber. HRVY (real name, obviously, Harvey) has been in the music game since 13 and has amassed a crazily dedicated following of more than 4 million fans on Instagram and 4.4 million on Tik Tok. He, is as you might suspect, a big hit with the ladies, lusted...

We’ve got another departure from our usual format for you this week, where this time we chat culture recommendations, from the book everyone’s talking about to Netflix’s latest hits. Strap in for our thoughts on Emily Ratajowski’s collection of essays, My Body, and the furore around it, as well as Maid (starring Margaret Qualley and her mother Andie McDowell), Squid Game and Sally Rooney’s latest...

Our guest today is Pandora Sykes, the author and podcaster who also happens to be one of our absolute *favourite* journalists ever (top fangirls over here). Pandora got her first big break at The Sunday Times Style magazine and has been one of the most beloved voices in the UK since – you’ll likely know her from No1 podcast The High Low and more recently, her BBC Radio 4 podcast Pieces of Britney....

This week, Kathleen and Eleanor put themselves in the hot seat, and talk all about what it’s really like to chat to celebrities for a living and becoming best friends while working at British GQ. Expect hilarious and juicy gossip about everyone from Dua Lipa and Bella Hadid to Stormzy and Tom Jones. We don’t hold anything back! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tanya Burr, who first found fame uploading makeup tutorials to YouTube in 2009 that reached millions of views and made her one of the UK’s very first “influencers”, comes on Straight Up to talk to Kathleen and Eleanor all about her pivot to acting and the launch of her lifestyle brand Authored. As well as recommending her favourite beauty products and explaining their sustainability, Tanya also re...

What's it like to quit a seven-year medicine degree to chance it on a music career? Over some spicy margaritas, the lead singer, writer and producer of psych-pop band Glass Animals tells Straight Up all about how he swapped a career as a neuroscientist to launch a No1 band with a record-breaking one billion streams for their 2020 single Heat Waves. Also in this episode, Dave busts some myths aroun...

What do you do when you're about to embark on a world tour but are suffering from burnout? London Grammar frontwoman Hannah Reid sat down with Kathleen and Eleanor to trace her journey from the band forming at Nottingham University to coping with a chronic illness and industry misogyny all the while going to No1.  Hannah spoke powerfully about her experiences of sexism in the music business (...

How do you keep your privacy when you're one of the most famous YouTubers in the entire world, and have shared your entire life online? One of the first YouTubers to make his name on the platform (where he has 23 million subscribers) KSI spoke to Kathleen and Eleanor about the pressures of being in the public eye from such a young age.  Over Bacardi rum cocktails, KSI also talked through the...

Should women pay on the first date? Should men date women with more money than them? In this very juicy episode, South London RnB musician Ray BLK chats to Kathleen and Eleanor all about dating do's and don'ts ahead of her debut album Access Denied. Ray also shared hilarious anecdotes around first paycheques, her very first experiences of success and her craziest moments from the last few years (i...

One of the world’s most adored film directors Zack Snyder comes on the brand-new second series of Straight Up to talk all about the music that made him: from the songs that soundtracked his childhood and his first romance to the song that always makes him cry. Zack also chats to Kathleen and Eleanor all about his favourite songs from across his films, as well as getting stuck into topics around be...

No one puts the UK's biggest musicians in their place like Amelia Dimoldenberg, CEO of Chicken Shop Date , the cult YouTube series in which the comedian and broadcaster takes stars to their favourite chicken shop, and grills them about everything from their love lives to their most embarrassing moments. Both deliciously awkward and completely hilarious, Chicken Shop Date has become a massive v...

What's it like to tour the world with Harry Styles, capturing some of the most intimate and symbolic moments of his life and career? Paris-based photographer Hélène Pambrun talks to Kathleen and Eleanor all about how she first met Harry, and why her interest in his fans is the reason she was hired by his team. Also in this episode, Straight Up and Hélène talk all about the power of seduction in ph...

Chic co-founder and super producer Nile Rodgers, along with his longtime manager Merck Mercuriadis, joins Straight Up to chat about how they’ve made a decades-long professional partnership work, what they love most about each other and why they’ve never had an argument (except a small one in this episode). They also told us all about their new business venture, Hipgnosis, which is essential to any...