Misadventures in Music with Ian Prowse & Mick Ord

In this episode of Misadventures in Music, Ian Prowse and Mick Ord sit down with legendary Liverpool songwriter and Ian McNabb for a fascinating, wide-ranging conversation about music, creativity, and a career that has spanned decades. From the early days of The Icicle Works through to his solo work and latest projects, Ian shares insights that only someone with his experience could provide.Ian reflects on the rise of The Icicle Works, explaining how the band’s unique sound emerged during the 1980s alternative music explosion. He dives into the story behind the band’s unforgettable name, revealing the quirky, unexpected origins that many fans might not know. He also discusses the songwriting approaches that helped make classic tracks like Love Is a Wonderful Colour and Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream) resonate with audiences, combining melodic sensibility with storytelling and emotional depth.The conversation then moves to Ian’s brand new album 65, offering listeners a glimpse into his current creative process. He talks in detail about his cover of So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry), explaining what it meant to reinterpret such an iconic track and how collaborating with Peter Buck influenced the recording and arrangement. Ian also reflects on his broader approach to music production, maintaining artistic integrity, and how he balances homage to his influences with forging a sound that is unmistakably his own.Throughout the episode, Ian shares candid stories about Liverpool’s vibrant music scene, performing live across the UK and Ireland, life on the road, and the challenges and rewards of sustaining a long career in music. He offers personal anecdotes that range from humorous to deeply insightful, including the experiences that shaped his artistry, the pivotal moments that defined The Icicle Works, and how early influences continue to inspire his work today.Whether you are a longtime fan of The Icicle Works, a music enthusiast interested in songwriting and production, or someone who loves hearing behind-the-scenes stories from Liverpool’s iconic music scene, this episode is full of rich, engaging content. It’s an honest, funny, and thoughtful conversation that captures both the legacy of Ian McNabb and the ongoing evolution of his music.

In this we hear from Mike Badger - one of the founder members of the legendary Liverpool band The La's and an established artist in his own right.Mike recently released 'Devils, Ghosts & Firearms', his first studio album in 5 years.Mike's continues to have a successful career as a film-maker (cult folk-horror movie,"The Vaden") and as an acclaimed sculptor whose current exhibition with Jeff Young at the Kirkby Gallery has received rave reviews.You can hear Mike's and artistic passion in every word he speaks.

James Campion is the author of a new fascinating and revealing book about Prince - one of the greatest songwriters and musicians of his era who passed away much too soon in 2016 aged 57.His new book 'Revolution - Prince, the band, the era" focuses on his prolific and ground-breaking music from the 80's when he and his band took the music world by storm.James makes a really strong case that Prince should be considered one of our greatest ever pop artists - in the same league as Bowie and The Beatles ; crucially, he emphasizes the huge influence that the other members of the band, The Revolution, had on the music.It's a warts and all portrait of an enigmatic, hugely gifted individual who drove himself and his musical family to the limits and beyond.Prince and the Revolution's is a tale worth savouring, told by a master storyteller.Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6UQLDLxQBRnal3O8hq8r0V?si=ce35dc720aea440cBook: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/revolution-9781493080847/

He had a raft of big hit singles in the 1960’s and 70’s and many of his acclaimed photographs are held the National Portrait Gallery.In the Misadventures in Music podcast episode 36, Mike talks to Ian and Mick lovingly about life in the McCartney family home and about some of the larger than life characters he encountered over the years including Keith Moon, Burton and Taylor and of course, the Beatles.Indeed, his band The Scaffold made their own unique contribution to our pop culture – so much so that Cherry Red Records have released a 5 CD/DVD Box Set of their recordings, including many unreleased tracks.If you enjoy listening to REAL stories from a genuine participant and eye witness to the golden era of pop music this episode is for you.Enjoy."

Our guest in the new Misadventures in Music podcast with Ian Prowse and Mick Ord is the writer Jeff Young, whose critically-acclaimed 'Wild Twin' has been nominated for the TLS Ackerley Award for the best biography of 2025.Set in Liverpool and Amsterdam in the late 70's and early 80's, the book centres on Jeff's wild experiences as a would-be bohemian writer - a sort of 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Scally'.His adventures as "a down and nearly out in Amsterdam" are infused with wit, squalor and some fantastic portraits of his friends and housemates as they attempt to scrape a living by fair means and foul - not necessarily in that order.The music of that period was, and remains, a huge inspiration to Jeff - so much so that a friend compiled a playlist of music referenced in the book, and it’s over twelve hours long!Enjoy the ride.You can listen to the music discussed in this podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6eHTvfZB8vDCaTHB45SB22?si=WfxQRoK7QP2O5sB9piKq5Q

Many political and military observers are calling the current war in Ukraine the most serious conflict that Europe has faced since World War Two, without for one moment demeaning the impact of other conflicts such as the wars in the former state of Yugoslavia 30 years ago.In episode 8 of Misadventures in Music Ian Prowse and Mick Ord discuss how different songwriters have viewed some of the other conflicts that have plagued the world over the years, from the Spanish Civil War in the Thirties, through to Vietnam and the Falklands War, taking in a range of differing perspectives such as Nina Simone, Bruce Springsteen and Christy Moore.Episode Notes.https://www.countryjoe.com/war.htm

Welcome to the second episode of Misadventures in Music with Ian Prowse and Mick Ord.In the second episode of the Misadventures In Music Podcast - Presenters Ian Prowse and Mick Ord look back on the work of Pogues frontman Shane McGowan.The conversation looks back on MacGowans English upbringing and his identity as an Irishman, discussing how his accent developed from when he was cockney teenager to his now evident Irish twang. The guys also discuss the current state of MacGowans health and attitude after interviewing a producer of Shanes' documentary, Siobhán McAndrew. The documentary that was also produced by julien Temple and Johnny Depp is called Crock Of Gold - A few rounds with Shane MacGowan. You can listen to the interview with Siobhán in the bonus Material available on the MIM channel.Ian also talks about his band Pele touring with the Pogues and his experience of the man, and his aura around the venues they played.There's no doubt that everyone who has contributed to this episode has huge respect for the man, poet and musician. But Shane is most certainly a complex man.Read More about the interviews and podcast on Urbanista Music Magazine

Ian Prowse and Mick Ord discuss the career of Lindisfarne musician Alan Hull with documentary producer Ged Clarke. The songwriter penned hits such as 'Lady Eleanor' and 'Fog On The Tyne' but relatively little is known about his work away from the North East.Ged joined the boys after the airing of his hugely popular BBC documentary featuring Sam Fender, Sting and Elvis Costello to name a few. The documentary is available on iPlayer for 12 monthsPlaylist Lady Eleanor by Lindisfarne which Hull wrote ( based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story The Fall of the House of Usher) One More Bottle of Wine - Alan Hull Breakfast - Alan Hull Statues and Liberties - Alan Hull The Money Game - Alan Hull January Song - Lindisfarne (from their best-selling album 'Fog on the Tyne')

Paul Hemmings, co-founder of the amazing Viper Label is our guest in episode 9 of the Misadventures in Music podcast with Ian Prowse and Mick Ord.Paul, ex-Las's and Lightning Seeds guitarist, co-founded the label in 1999 with another ex-La's stalwart and solo artist in his own right, Mike Badger.The label specialises in vintage blues, rock n roll, country & gospel recordings and has released more than 150 "roots" albums and singles along with notable releases from the La's and Captain Beefheart, in addition to noted Merseyside artists such as Edgar Jones & Mr Badger himself.Paul's love of these iconic recordings shines through and he's already agreed to return to our studios in the future to continue the Viper story and showcase the vintage roots recordings of which he is rightly so proud."PLAYLIST - all from Viper Label1) Buddy Jones - Rockin Rollin Mama - from Out There - The Wondrous Roots of Rock n Roll2) The Reefer Song - Fats Waller - from Ultimate 30's and 40's Reefer Songs3) Then We'll Need that True Religion - Rev Edward Clayton from The Very Best of American Religious Songs4) Rock Me - Sister Rosetta Tharpe as above5) Riot in Cell Block Number 9 - The Robins ( from Banged Up - American Jailhouse Songs)6) Folson Prison Blues - Johnny Cash ( as above)7) Space Guitar - Johnny Guitar Watson --- from Hot Guitars album8) Bo Meets The Master - Bo Diddley --- The Ultimate Halloween PartyAll music is licensed with PRS - Read more about the Viper Label here

In this month's episode, Ian and Mick meet the Scottish film director Grant McPhee who's making a three-part documentary series on the untold story of Liverpool's arts and music underground scene from 1964 to 1984 - "Revolutionary Spirit".Contrary to popular belief, the Merseyside music scene didn't collapse after the Beatles left the city in the 60's. There was a thriving underground scene before,during and after the Fab Four which paved the way for the 2nd Mersey Music explosion in the early 80's.Grant discusses his first documentary in the series, 'The Pool of Life', which tells the story of the legendary Liverpool School of Language, Music, Dream and Pun - how it started and what it led to ; with some incredible archive footage from the 70's that has never been seen publicly before.Grant describes it as 'The Greatest Story Never Told'

Unless you've landed on Earth from another planet in the last 24 hours, you probably know that in recent years, vinyl records have experienced a huge revival in popularity, which has led to a rebirth of record stores.It's fair to say that Graham Jones, our guest on this month's Misadventures in Music podcast, has documented this "vinyl revival" better than anyone.His book, Last Shop Standing: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of the Independent Record Shop, was a best-seller in 2009 and became an acclaimed documentary. Graham's probably visited more record shops in the UK than anyone else as his most recent book 'The Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made It Happen' (also a TV documentary) testifies.He's a compelling storyteller with some genuinely hilarious (and eyebrow-raising) tales of his life in the record industry over the last 40 years.He has some fascinating 'behind-the-scenes' stories that he's never revealed until we came along .Enjoy the ride."

There aren't too many bands from the 70's and 80''s who're still producing compelling new music and not just replaying their biggest hits, but then Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark have always ignored the prevailing musical trends and ploughed their own furrow, which is why the Wirral band's blend of classic Synthpop and contemporary Electronic Dance Music is still wowing audiences.They're smack bang in the middle of a European tour and their last album The Punishment of Luxury was greeted with widespread critical acclaim, but Andy McCluskey says OMD's next release, Bauhaus Staircase, will be their last. No, really. He's our special guest in this month's Misadventures in Music podcast, with Ian Prowse and Mick Ord.Andy talks candidly about OMD's history, their musical influences and looks to the future with optimism as fans await the release of Bauhaus Staircase, their 14th studio album. A big thanks to Roy and Clare from the Podcafe in Liverpool for use of their recording studios. Track Listing Autobahn by Kraftwerk (extract) Warm Leatherette by The Normal (full track) Electricity by OMD (full track) Pyjamarama buy Roxy Music (full track) Dazzle Ships/ Genetic Engineering by OMD (extracts) Radio Prague by OMD (extract)

Our presenter Ian Prowse chats to Mick Ord about this latest album released on Feb 11th. One Hand On The Starry Plough. After releasing albums with his bands, Pele and Amsterdam. This is Prowsy's 4th solo album that combines a feel good Indie, folk and Celtic vibe throughout.  Find more about how the inspiration behind his hit single Battle and his noir-style ode to Diego Maradona, with discussions about his up-coming UK tour and supporting his friend Elvis Costello and the Imposters tour. find out more about the stories and podcasts here