logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2022
27m 52s

Noddy Holder on Chuck Berry

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

In 1972 Chucky Berry was onstage in Coventry. Seeking some audience participation Chuck launched into a cover of an unusual novelty record called 'My Ding-a-Ling'.

One of the men who can be heard in the crowd singing about their "Ding-a-Ling' was Noddy Holder whose band Slade were supporting Berry on his UK tour. This track became Berry's only UK number one and by default, one of Noddy's seven. Paul Gambaccini also saw Berry live in the 1970s and remembers him playing hits like 'Johnny B. Goode' and 'Maybellene', but never performing for a minute longer than the agreed contracted length of his set.

Paul and Noddy join Matthew Parris to discuss the life of this influential pioneer who along with Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard is said to have invented rock n roll. They talk about Berry's musical influences, his rise to stardom, his shrewd approach to business and some of the darker moments that blight Berry's legacy.

Produced by Toby Field for BBC Audio, Bristol.

Up next
Nov 3
Oliver Postgate
"Postgate's work is deep inside me and I think that's true for so many of my generation...His work represents nothing less than a touchstone for our national imagination and in that sense it's profoundly important"Andrew Davenport, writer, composer, and creator of Teletubbies and ... Show More
27m 39s
Oct 27
Sylvia Plath
Lucy Jones, author of Matrescence, chooses the writer Sylvia Plath. Sylvia Plath was a precocious, prize-winning child,. Her mother had high expectations for her. Her father had died when she was 8 (but could have been saved if only he'd gone to see a doctor). When she was well, ... Show More
27m 6s
Oct 20
Elizabeth Day on Hatshepsut
"One of the things that she claimed was that her mother had been impregnated by the sun god Amon-Ra." Elizabeth Day's interest in the female pharaoh Hatshepsut was sparked by a trip to Egypt less than a year ago. What intrigued her was how this woman survived and thrived as ruler ... Show More
27m 40s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2020
Chuck Berry: Systemic Racism, Sexual Depravity and the Invention of Rock ‘N’ Roll
Chuck Berry was imprisoned numerous times. He was a victim of violent systemic racism and accused of horrific acts of sexual depravity. He also invented rock ‘n’ roll. Chuck Berry was as complex a character as he was influential as a musician. Throughout his career he found himse ... Show More
38m 28s
Apr 2021
Barry Gibb's Wild Ride
Few bands have experienced such extreme highs and lows as the Bee Gees. Throughout their decades-long career, the band of brothers managed to be both grossly underrated and one of the best-selling acts of all time. Barry Gibb and his younger twin brothers Maurice and Robin Gibb s ... Show More
59m 27s
Oct 2023
Confronting expectations with Steven Wilson, Roland Orzabal, Lucy Rose and Andy Partridge
Steven Wilson, Roland Orzabal, Lucy Rose and Andy Partridge talk about the effect of fan expectations on the creative process, whether the world needs any more new music, and if “retro mania” is stopping rock music from evolving.Born in London and raised in Hemel Hempstead in the ... Show More
34m 1s
Jan 2024
NOËL - Bob Dylan : "Highway 61 Revisited" ou l'âme de la musique américaine
REDIFF - Pendant les fêtes, retrouvez les Lettres d'Amérique des correspondants de RTL à New York... La "Highway 61" n'est pas seulement une route qui traverse l'Amérique du nord au sud, reliant le Minnesota à la Louisiane, en passant le Missouri, le Tennessee et le Mississipi. C ... Show More
19m 7s
Dec 2018
Gary Barlow, singer-songwriter
Gary Barlow, musician and Take That lead singer, has written more than a dozen chart-topping songs, and has received six Ivor Novello awards including the award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Born in Cheshire in 1971, his interest in music was sparked at an early ... Show More
58m 56s
Jun 2022
Abe Laboriel Jr. Keeps Time for Sir Paul
<p>Abe Laboriel Jr. is the drummer on speed dial for some of the biggest names in the music business, including Eric Clapton, k.d. lang, Eddie Vedder, Melissa Etheridge&hellip;and Paul McCartney, as member of McCartney&rsquo;s band for the past two decades. Son of Mexican bass gu ... Show More
43m 30s
Feb 2024
Graham Nash, musician
Graham William Nash is a musician, singer, songwriter and photographer. He had his first musical success as a member of the UK band The Hollies before his move to America when he sang as part of Crosby, Stills and Nash.Graham was born in 1942 and grew up in Salford. He found his ... Show More
36m 26s
Apr 2022
Robert Plant, singer and songwriter
Robert Plant is a singer and songwriter who was Led Zeppelin’s frontman from the band’s inception in 1968 until it disbanded in 1980. Led Zeppelin sold hundreds of millions of albums and in their heyday acquired a reputation for unbridled rock ‘n’ roll hedonism. Since 1980 Robert ... Show More
35m 12s
Feb 2019
Berry Gordy, Jr.
Berry Gordy Jr. forever changed the music scene with a new sound he called Motown Records. Under Berry’s guidance, the Motown record label pumped out #1 hits for The Jackson 5, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Four Tops and Smokey Robinson. Berry t ... Show More
34m 26s