E156: Richard Boon on Buzzcocks + Manchester + Morrissey audio

Rock's Backpages

In this episode, Richard Boon joins us to talk about his life in music, taking in the birth of Buzzcocks, the Smiths on Rough Trade and his time as "the world's coolest librarian" in Stoke Newington.

The punk instigator takes us back to 1976, when he went to see the Sex Pistols live in High Wycombe together with a certain Howard Trafford and Peter McNeish. This shock to the system led to Richard inviting them to play his art studio in Reading, plus the near-mythological Lesser Free Trade Hall show that everyone in Manchester later claimed to have been at. Once Howard and Pete re-christened themselves Devoto and Shelley and formed Buzzcocks, Richard fell into managing the group and put out their seminal Spiral Scratch EP on his New Hormones label.

We then ask Richard about his move to Rough Trade around the same time as he brought them the Smiths. Clips from Martin Aston's 1986 audio interview with Morrissey form the backdrop for a discussion of why the band were special, their reluctance to film music videos and their relationship with their fans.

Following discussion of featured writer Cath Carroll, whose early interview with Morrissey and Marr plus pieces on Linder and New Order round out the Manchester theme, Mark and Jasper finish up on library highlights including Sandy Bull, Yazz, the Spice Girls, and Lewis Capaldi.

Many thanks to special guest Richard Boon.

Please note that this episode was recorded before the death of Jane Birkin.

Pieces discussed: Buzzcocks, Spiral Scratch, Pete Shelley audio, Morrissey audio, The Smiths, Linder, New Order, Sandy Bull, Van Morrison, Little Feat, Yazz, The Spice Girls, Pete Rugolo, Chuck Berry and Lewis Capaldi.