Kathy Valentine joins us to talk about her career, her new book, her time with The Go-Go's, her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & more.

It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it.

Kathy Valentine grew up in Austin, Texas but also spent time in London as a teenager via family connections. On one such visit she saw Suzi Quattro on Top of the Pops & decided to form a punk band back in Austin.

Kathy's first band The Violators also featured Carla Olsen (who later collaborated with Gene Clark, Bob Dylan, Mick Taylor, Percy Sledge, Ry Cooder & more) & in August 1980 they drove to LA in pursuit of their dream. Once in LA they become The Textones & release two singles, one of which is an unreleased Tom Petty track.

A chance meeting at the end of 1980 leads to Kathy leaving the band to join The Go-Go's with Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Charlotte Caffey & Gina Schock.

Her first gig was on New Years Eve of 1980 at the Whiskey a Go Go.

The band sign with IRS in April of 1981 & fly to New York the next day to begin work on what becomes the Beauty & The Beat album with producer Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, Dr. Feelgood, Richard Hell). 'Our Lips Are Sealed' becomes the first single co-written by Specials frontman Terry Hall. The track breaks through despite resistance from radio & within the industry.

The Go-Go's open for the Rolling Stones & The Police in the coming months as well as an appearance on Saturday Night Live alongside Eddie Murphy. The album reaches number 1 & becomes one of the most successful debut albums of all time & is still the only album to reach top top spot entirely written & performed by an all female band.

Second album Vacation follows in 1982 with a title track written by Kathy & leads to an appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. The band are playing larger venues including a date with David Bowie on the Serious Moonlight Tour.

The final Go-Go's album Talk Show is made in England with producer Martin Rushent & founder member Jane Wiedlin leaves the band not long after the supporting tour.

The Go-Go's were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 & the band will be playing in 2025 including the Cruel World Festival in Pasadena, California.

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/live/

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon Cardwell

Written & Produced by Simon Cardwell

Edited by Andy Maxwell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us as we present our first live episode - recorded at one of our live events here in Walthamstow, East London - talking all things Britpop & the 90's with Miranda Sawyer & Sian Pattenden.

Including Suede, Blur, Elastica, Sleeper, Pulp, Oasis, The Verve, Robbie Williams, Tricky, Glastonbury & a lot more.

It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps

It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it.

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/live/

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted by Sian Pattenden

Recorded by Rob Donnelly-Jackson

Recorded at the Walthamstow Trades Hall

Produced by Simon Cardwell

Edited by Andy Maxwell & Rob Donnelly-Jackson

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 1989 album is 10 years old on October 27th 2014 - so we thought we'd take a deep dive into the story behind this iconic record.

It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps

It is extremely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it.

You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/live/

Joining us is writer Caroline Sullivan - her book 'Taylor Swift Era by Era' is out now on Michael O'Mara publishing - On her previous album Red, Taylor Swift had started to move into more of a pop direction & for her 5th album she decides to dive into the world of pop - what led her to this change of direction? Was it a gradual process? How did her fans & record label react?

Shortly before making 1989, Taylor Swift bought her house in Rhode Island - previously been owned by Standard Oil fortune heiress & socialite Rebekah Harkness & also relocates full time to New York City. This change of scenery leads to album opener 'Welcome To New York' which takes an 80s synth pop inflected sound which ends up running through the entire album.

The album features 7 songs produced by pop producers Max Martin & Shellback, as well as Ryan Tedder, British songwriter Imogen Heap but also marks one of the first contributions from Jack Antonoff who subsequently becomes a key collaborator on later releases.

1989 & lead single Shake It Off are announced via a livestream atop the Empire State Building in August of 2014 & Shake It Off becomes her biggest hit to date, spending 8 weeks at the top of the chart, shifting over 10 million units.

The album spawns 7 hit singles including a further 2 number 1s (Blank Space & Bad Blood) & crosses over in a way prior releases hadn't - going onto sell over 14 million copies.

The 1989 World Tour makes over $250m worldwide across 85 dates & becomes known for its many guest appearances including Mick Jagger, Joan Baez, The Weeknd, HAIM, Ed Sheeran, Lorde & dozens more.

Taylor Swift becomes the first woman to win 2 Grammy Awards with this album b ut also withholds her music from streaming services including Spotify & Apple Music & writes a strongly worded article in the Wall Street Journal making the case for music being paid for & not free.

Ryan Adams releases his version of the entire 1989 album in the autumn of 2015 & Bad Blood is re-released featuring Kendrick Lamar. Taylor also writes a song for Rihanna & Calvin Harris under the name Nils Sjöberg.

All this & more - join us to hear all about it.

Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17

X: @simonmusicmaps

Facebook: E17rockbookclub

Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon Cardwell

Written & Produced by Simon Cardwell

Edited by Andy Maxwell

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.