Ahead of our huge boxset of special podcast episodes landing on Friday, I wanted to chat to journalist and author, Will Hodgkinson on his Mojo cover story with Paul Weller.
Will is the chief rock and pop critic for The Times and has written for The Guardian, The Independent, Vogue and Mojo magazine.
He is also the author of many fantastic books – Guitar Man, Song Man, The Ballad of Britain and The House Is Full of Yogis. As you’ll hear on the podcast he has also just announced his new book Street-Level Superstar – A Year With Lawrence which has just gone on sale for pre-orders (see link below).
Will Hodgkinson – Mojo – The Story of 66 – Paul Weller Fan Podcast
Click your preferred podcast platform to listen…
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AcastMojo Cover Story – Order your copy here.
Can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Paul Weller keeps giving the lie to that adage, with a fascinating new album and an exclusive new interview with MOJO. Plus: insights into his live resurrection and reflections by Noel Gallagher on his friend and (sometimes fiery) mentor.
Street Level Superstar – A Year in the Life of Lawrence – Order on Rough Trade here.
Lawrence is the greatest pop star you have never heard of, his dreams of glory thwarted over the past five decades by bad luck and self-sabotage. At sixty-one, he set off on a new mission: to escape poverty, obscurity and the humiliation of kids at the bus stop laughing at him by writing a smash hit. But what is the cost of a dream?
In 1979, Lawrence formed Felt, who released ten albums and ten singles in ten years before splitting up. In 1991, he reinvented himself with novelty-pop outfit Denim. Signed to EMI, riding the wave of Britpop, in 1997, Denim’s song ‘Summer Smash’ became Radio 1’s Single of the Week and looked like a sure-fire hit. Then Princess Diana was killed in a car crash. All copies were melted down. Crushing depression, addiction and homelessness followed… but in the face of it all, Lawrence never gave up.
In Street-Level Superstar, bestselling author and journalist Will Hodgkinson follows Lawrence as he rebuilds his life. He gets mistaken for an old lady by an amorous pensioner, is reduced to dragging sacks of 2p coins to his local bank and wanders through London’s distant suburbs in search of lyrical inspiration. As they walk together down rain-soaked streets, Will tells the story of Britain’s most eccentric cult star. Will he write the greatest song the world has ever known before the year is out? And was it worth sacrificing everything – family, relationships, health, sanity -for art?