Mastertapes Podcast
John Wilson talks with musicians about a career-defining album, and a live audience also puts questions. Featuring exclusive live performances.
Episodes to download
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Manic Street Preachers (the A-Side)—Series 4
Mon 17 Nov 2014
3/12 Manic Street Preachers talk to John Wilson about their 1994 album The Holy Bible.
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Rufus Wainwright (the A-Side)—Series 4
Mon 10 Nov 2014
1/12 Rufus Wainwright talks to John Wilson about 'Want One', his breakthrough album from 2003.
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Rufus Wainwright
Mon 10 Nov 2014
Rufus talks about his life-changing album Want One, plays piano and sings a cappella.
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Soul II Soul (B-Side)—Series 3
Tue 10 Dec 2013
10/12 Jazzie B and Caron Wheeler answer audience questions about the album Club Classics Vol 1.
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Soul II Soul (A-Side)—Series 3
Mon 9 Dec 2013
9/12 Jazzie B and Caron Wheeler talk to John Wilson about the album Club Classics Vol 1.
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Edwyn Collins (B-Side)—Series 3
Tue 3 Dec 2013
8/12 It's the turn of the audience to question Edwyn Collins about his album Gorgeous George.
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Edwyn Collins (A-Side)—Series 3
Mon 2 Dec 2013
7/12 Edwyn Collins talks to John Wilson about Gorgeous George, his best-known solo album.
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Natalie Merchant (the B-Side)—Series 3
Tue 26 Nov 2013
6/12 Natalie Merchant answers audience questions about her 1995 album, 'Tigerlily'.
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Natalie Merchant (the A-Side)—Series 3
Mon 25 Nov 2013
5/12 Natalie Merchant talks to John Wilson about her 1995 debut solo album, Tigerlily.
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David Crosby (B-Side)—Series 3
Tue 19 Nov 2013
4/12 Audience questions for David Crosby about his album, 'If I Could Only Remember My Name'
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David Crosby (A-Side)—Series 3
Mon 18 Nov 2013
3/12 David Crosby discusses the making of his 1971 album If 'I Could Only Remember My Name'
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Robbie Williams (B-Side)—Series 3
Tue 12 Nov 2013
2/12 The audience questions Robbie about Life Thru a Lens, his debut solo album.
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Robbie Williams (A-Side)—Series 3
Mon 11 Nov 2013
1/12 Robbie Williams talks to John Wilson about his debut solo album, Life Thru a Lens.
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Spandau Ballet (B-Side)—Series 2
Tue 25 Jun 2013
10/10 Gary Kemp and Tony Hadley answer audience questions about Spandau Ballet's hit album True.
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Spandau Ballet (A-Side)—Series 2
Mon 24 Jun 2013
9/10 Gary Kemp and Tony Hadley talk to John about Spandau Ballet's chart-topping album True.
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Eliza and Martin Carthy (B-Side)—Series 2
Tue 18 Jun 2013
8/10 Eliza and Martin Carthy answer audience questions about her album and their work together.
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Eliza and Martin Carthy (A-Side)—Series 2
Mon 17 Jun 2013
7/10 Eliza and Martin Carthy talk to John Wilson about the Mercury nominated album: 'Anglicana'
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Richard Thompson (B-Side)—Series 2
Tue 11 Jun 2013
6/10 The audience asks Richard Thompson questions about his 1991 solo album Rumor and Sigh.
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Richard Thompson (A-Side)—Series 2
Mon 10 Jun 2013
5/10 John Wilson talks to Richard Thompson about the making of his 1991 album Rumor and Sigh.
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Mike Scott & Steve Wickham of the Waterboys (the B-Side)—Series 2
Tue 4 Jun 2013
4/10 Mike Scott and Steve Wickham answer audience questions about Fisherman's Blues.
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Mike Scott and Steve Wickham of the Waterboys (the A-Side)—Series 2
Mon 3 Jun 2013
3/10 Mike Scott and Steve Wickham talk about Fisherman's Blues, the fourth Waterboys album.
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Wilko Johnson (the B-side)—Series 2
Tue 28 May 2013
2/10 Wilko Johnson responds to questions about the making of Dr Feelgood's Down By The Jetty.
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Wilko Johnson (the A-side)—Series 2
Mon 27 May 2013
1/10 Wilko Johnson talks to John Wilson about Down By The Jetty, the debut album by Dr Feelgood
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The Zombies (the B-Side)—Series 1
Mon 17 Dec 2012
14/14 Rod Argent, Chris White and Colin Blunstone are quizzed about Zombies' Odessey and Oracle.
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The Zombies (the A-Side)—Series 1
Tue 11 Dec 2012
13/14 Rod Argent, Chris White and Colin Blunstone on the Zombies' album Odessey and Oracle.
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Corinne Bailey Rae (the B-Side)—Series 1
Mon 10 Dec 2012
12/14 The audience asks the questions as Corinne Bailey Rae talks about her album, The Sea.
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Corinne Bailey Rae (the A-Side)—Series 1
Tue 4 Dec 2012
11/14 Corinne Bailey Rae returns to her second album, The Sea, and plays tracks from it live.
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Ray Davies (the B-Side)—Series 1
Mon 3 Dec 2012
10/14 Ray Davies take on questions about two classic Kinks' albums, Lola and Muswell Hillbillies
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Ray Davies (the A-Side)—Series 1
Tue 27 Nov 2012
9/14 Ray Davies talks to John Wilson about the Kinks albums 'Lola' and 'Muswell Hillbillies'.
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Brinsley Forde (the B-Side)—Series 1
Mon 26 Nov 2012
8/14 The audience asks Brinsley Forde questions about Aswad's 1981 reggae album New Chapter.
Eight things we learned from Lily Allen’s Mastertapes
We hear about the breakdown of her marriage, substance abuse… and socks
10 things we learned from Randy Newman’s Mastertapes
The legendary songwriter's interview with John Wilson is fascinating and very funny.
Mastertapes special: Paul McCartney
Watch a filmed version of Paul McCartney speaking to John Wilson about his career.
Live performances
Watch and listen to exclusive live performances from the Mastertapes recordings.
Radio 4 on Music
Re-releasing music documentaries from the Radio 4 Archive.
