About this episode
Content warning: This episode contains discussion of assault (1:02:28–1:05:20) that some listeners may find distressing. In the 70th episode of our podcast, RBP's Zooming triumvirate talk about the Who's Live at Leeds — "the greatest live album ever made," in many people's H.O. — as it reaches its half-century. Referencing Geoffrey Cannon's unabridged Guardian review from May 1970, Mark & Barney relive memories of seeing the Who live and — with Jasper — explore what made the band such a uniquely powerful live unit. The two other giants of '60s British pop feature in free pieces by KRLA Beat 's Nikki "Eden" Wine , who attempts to explain Beatlemania in 1965 and hangs around a Rolling Stones session in Hollywood in 1966. Mark puts "the Beat " ("America's Pop Music NEWSpaper") into historical context and describes how some of its key female contributors wound up on RBP. A passionate fan of Ron Sexsmith 's for 25 years, Barney intros his own 2011 audio interview with the self-effacing Canadian. There are clips of Ron talking about Interscope signing him at the ripe old age of 31; about his and others' songwriting; and about his painful envy of Neil Diamond's onstage confidence. Finally, Mark & Jasper chew over highlights among the week's new library pieces, including interviews with Chicken Shack (1969), Manitas de Plata (1971) and Creation's Alan McGee (1997); a report on the Jacksons ' overblown Victory tour of 1984; a review of Childish Gambino 's first London gig (2012); and a 2017 report on allegations of sexual abuse against "queer punk" duo PWR BTTM … The Rock's Backpages podcast is proud to be part of the Pantheon podcast network. Pieces discussed: The Who: Live at Leeds , Live at Leeds (Super Deluxe!) , Paul Entwistle , Beatlemania , Rolling Stones , Marvin Gaye , Ron Sexsmith audio , Doris Day , Chicken Shack , Manitas de Plata , The Jacksons' Victory tour , Metallica , Belly , Alan McGee , Felt , Humphrey Lyttelton joins Radiohead , Donny Hathaway , Childish Gambino and PWR BTTM .