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Rock's BackpagesTales from the archive of music journalism Author: Barney Hoskyns, Mark Pringle, Jasper Murison-Bowie
Tales from the world's largest archive of music journalism: entertaining interviews with luminaries such as Neil Tennant, Billy Bragg, Pamela Des Barres, Gary Kemp, Vashti Bunyan, Midge Ure, Nick Hornby and Robyn Hitchcock. Thoughtful and informative conversations about all aspects of popular music history, interspersed with clips from exclusive audio interviews that date back to the mid-'60s. The RBP podcast is hosted by Barney Hoskyns and Mark Pringle and co-hosted & produced by Jasper Murison-Bowie. We're a proud part of Pantheon the podcast network for music lovers. Language: en Genres: Music, Music History, Music Interviews Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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E225: Adele Bertei on New York's No Wave scene
Episode 225
Monday, 30 March, 2026
In this episode we welcome back the marvellous Adele Bertei — five years after she first guested on our show — to talk about her amazing new book No New York. Beginning with a definition of the postpunk sub-genre "No Wave", the former Contortion recalls her experience of living in Manhattan's perilous East Village in the late '70s and playing organ behind the unhinged James Chance. She also pays tribute to the many fearless women who "shaped the scene", first and foremost the formidable Lydia Lunch. Our guest recalls working as a go-fer for Brian Eno and then being a crucial part of the No New York album the former Roxy Musician oversaw in 1978. We hear not just about Chance's Contortions and Lunch's Teenage Jesus & the Jerks but about Mars, DNA, the Bush Tetras and finally Adele's own funky feminist troupe the Bloods. After collective reflections on No Wave's slow dissolution — and Adele's subsequent '80s adventures with the likes of Thomas Dolby — Barney and Jasper rave about the week's featured artist Robyn and the week's featured audio, in which the late Chip Taylor reminisces about such classic hit songs as 'Wild Thing' and 'Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)'. Finally, Mark quotes appropriately from a 1978 Talking Heads interview and Jasper enjoys a Caroline Sullivan diss of Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP from 2000. Many thanks to special Adele Bertei. No New York: A Memoir of No Wave and the Women Who Shaped the Scene is published by Faber and available now. Pieces discussed: Nobody Waved Goodbye: Bands At Artists Space, Brian Eno's No New York compilation, Sons and Daughters of No New York: DNA, Robyn: Blonde Ambition, Robyn, Röyksopp: "There's This Idea That You're An Oddball, Far Up At The Top Of The World", Robyn: Brixton Academy, London, Chip Taylor audio, The Talking Heads sing more songs about buildings and food, Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP and It's no wonder Dylan didn't take the fight to Beijing — he was never very political.
