Welcome to Episode 6 of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which two music journalists/obsessives, (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.

Our 5th Episode, Oasis: What's The Story?, in which we discussed the 1995 album that catapulted the Manchester band to international fame, is now available in full, on all streaming platforms, for anyone who is not one of our paid-up Substack subscribers and wants to hear where we go with these discussions. We now head back to the United States for a look at the strange case of Blondie.

A cornerstone of the original New York punk scene that revolved around CBGB, Club 82 and Max’s Kansas City, Blondie were a group with roots in both the pure pop of 1960s girl groups like the Shangri-La’s and the pop art experiments of the early Velvet Underground. Fronted by the gorgeously talented Debbie Harry, Blondie were the biggest (and arguably the best) pop band in the US from 1979 through 1981, though they actually scored two massive hits in the UK — “Denis” and “(I’m Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear” — in 1978, before most American listeners were even aware of their existence.

Blondie’s US breakthrough came in 1979 via “Heart of Glass,” the Mike Chapman-produced disco smash that provoked cries of “Sellout!” from punk and new wave fans, but completely connected with the cultural zeitgeist of the time. Of course, Blondie — a band who were never shy about experimenting with musical styles and forms beyond accepted punk parameters — had actually been playing versions of the song well before “disco” became a dirty word.

In this episode of CROSSED CHANNELS, Dan and Tony take a look at Blondie’s incredible run of six albums between 1976-82, and discuss how a band that was largely written off by critics and scenesters in their early days wound up scoring Number One hits on both sides of the Atlantic — as well as why British record buyers fell for them first. Along the way, our hosts answer these questions and more:

• What was the original title for "Heart of Glass,” and how far back does the song date?

• When did Debbie Harry first show up on an album?

• What was the group that Chris Stein and Debbie Harry first played in together?

• What cassette did drummer Clem Burke bring back with him from London in 1975?

• And was it Farfisa or Vox that gave keyboard player Jimmy Destri Blondie’s distinctive retro sound?

A free preview of Episode 6 is available to all listeners, but the episode is only available in its entirety to paid subscribers of or . If you’re already a free subscriber to either of these Substacks (or better yet, both), upgrade your subscription now to hear the whole thing. As always, we are immensely grateful for your encouragement and support! Cheers!

…A couple of photographic references from the episode:

Welcome to the fifth episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond

Having tackled the rise and premature demise of Otis Redding in our last episode, we now return to England — Manchester, to be specific — to discuss the band Oasis and the 1995 album that catapulted them to international stardom, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

Originally a quartet formed in 1991 as the Rain, Oasis – which became a five-piece once singer Liam Gallagher's older brother, the songwriter Noel Gallagher, joined the band - were signed to Creation Records in the summer of 1993. They scored their first UK Top 10 hit a year later with “Live Forever,” and generated such a buzz that their 1994 debut album Definitely Maybe entered the Number One spot on the UK albums chart in its first week of release, becoming the fastest selling debut album in British history.

But it was their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, that turned Oasis into a genuine phenomenon. Released in October 1995, the record spent ten weeks at the top of the UK albums chart and spawned four UK #1 or #2 hits with “Some Might Say,” “Roll With It,” “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. For anyone in Britain in 1995-96, it was impossible to get away from the sound of the band’s music; discussion of their antics (the Gallagher brothers took “sibling rivalry” to new extremes and the group as a whole was known for its rabble-rousing); and coverage of the Britpop phenomenon, which Oasis were drawn into after the media created a rivalry between themselves and Blur.

This astonishing success climaxed in the UK in August 1996 with a two-night stand at Knebworth Park (see below), the biggest ever concerts in the UK's history; they drew a record 250,000 people, only 1/10th the number who applied. (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? went on to sell over 5 million records in the UK, and over 4 million in the USA, accompanied by Grammy nominations, Brits and Ivor Novello awards, and commensurate international sales adding up to over 20 million globally, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Why did Oasis — and especially (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? — strike such a massive chord with British record buyers? What was it about the band’s music, message and attitude that resonated so deeply in the UK? And how was this exceedingly British band received in the US at a time when the seismic rumbles of the grunge movement were still being heard and felt on that side of the Atlantic?

Dan and Tony discuss these topics and more, including their memories of their first Oasis concerts, and have a look to see just how well (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? holds up today, nearly 29 years after its release.

A free preview of Episode 5 is available to all listeners, but the entire episode (along with all previous CROSSED CHANNELS episodes) is only available to paid subscribers of or . If you’re already a free subscriber to one of these Substacks (or, even better, both), upgrade your subscription now to ensure that you don’t miss out on all the fun. As always, we thank you for the encouragement and support! Cheers!

This episode was recorded on Zoom, rather than in person per usual, due to Tony being in the UK, and there are a couple of minor audio glitches for which we apologize. We figure you can fill in the gaps! If you have comments on this episode, or suggestions for future episode subjects, we are all ears!

Welcome to the fourth episode of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from across the pond.

Having discussed the rise and fall of The Sex Pistols in our last episode, we now head back across the Atlantic — and back a decade earlier — to tackle the rise and premature demise of legendary soul man Otis Redding.

Born in 1941 in Dawson, Georgia and raised in Macon, Otis began his professional singing career in the late 1950s as a Little Richard-influenced rock and roller, but his big break came in 1962, when he cut “These Arms of Mine” at the Stax studio in Memphis, with Booker T. & The M.G.’s backing him. That song reached #20 on the US R&B chart in late 1962, the first of 24 Redding singles to reach the US R&B Top 20 or higher.

But while Otis was enormously popular with Black audiences, his songs only occasionally crossed over onto the US pop charts, and it was only after his jaw-dropping performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 that America’s mainstream pop scene began to finally recognize “The Big O” for the soul giant he was. But that penny had already dropped in the UK, where 1965’s Otis Blue had reached #6 on the album charts, and where the influential TV show Ready Steady Go! had devoted an entire episode to him. (See below.)

Why did white British audiences (and the mainstream UK music media) recognize Otis Redding’s genius before white American audiences did? Why was it such a radical thing at the time for Otis to cover songs by both The Rolling Stones and The Beatles? What might he have gone on to accomplish if his plane hadn’t gone down in a frozen Wisconsin lake on December 10, 1967, taking the lives of Otis, his pilot, and five young members of his backing band, the Bar-Kays?

Dan and Tony discuss these topics and more, picking out three favorite songs apiece in an attempt to get to the heart of what made Otis Redding such a major figure in soul music, and why his recorded legacy still sounds so wonderfully fresh and alive to this day.

A free preview of Episode 4 is available to all listeners, but the entire episode (along with all previous CROSSED CHANNELS episodes) is only available to paid JAGGED TIME LAPSE or TONY FLETCHER, WORDSMITH subscribers. If you’re already a free subscriber to one Substack or the other, upgrade your subscription now to ensure that you don’t miss out on the fun. Cheers, and thanks as always for the support!

Note to subscribers of Tony Fletcher, Wordsmith: this Crossed Channels podcast episode is in lieu of the usual Midweek Update. I will be heading to the UK this weekend and posting from there over coming weeks, including the John Entwistle epic two-parter coming up this weekend, from my 1996 interview with him at his Shropshire mansion for the Keith Moon biography, Dear Boy.