A new podcast, with your hosts Sara and Robert.

This weekend I made my annual pilgrimage from leafy Surrey approximately 220 miles north to Liverpool for this years Beatles Convention. Plenty of time to take in some tunes and to also digest episode 1 of a new podcast … Beatles About The Bush.

I consume a large number of Beatles podcasts and the premise of Beatles Around The Bush intrigued me. Our hosts, Sarah; an author, comedy writer and huge Beatles fan and Robert, a longterm Kate Bush fan will chronologically appraise each LP by both the Beatles and Kate Bush and try to convert the other to the merits and music genius of their respective idols.

Lifelong friends our hosts take a track by track journey in episode 1 through the debut Beatles LP, Please Please Me. Robert, who admits to having a limited Beatles knowledge, is guided deftly by Sara who delivers a concise career summary up to the point of the albums release. Sara fills in the gaps of Roberts understanding and providing context with knowledge way higher than her self appraised “A” Level grade in Beatleology. Robert who comes to the LP for the first time gives a well considered musical evaluation encapsulating not just the musical style but lyrical content too. I always find it interesting to hear a fresh viewpoint on something that, for me, is deeply ingrained and familiar. That doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree with all the song appraisals, but that’s fine, I’ve yet to find someone who agrees with all of mine. I love a ‘Taste of Honey’ but clearly not as much as Sara and Rob … I prefer ‘Chains’.

I look forward to taking in the future episodes where Rob will take the lead and act as guide through the career journey of Kate Bush starting with episode 2 featuring ‘The Kick Inside’. I know a little of her story and music but not the ‘whole’ thing and welcome the opportunity to expand my understanding. I will certainly familiarise myself with the LP prior to the next episode to get a fuller appreciation of the opinions expressed.

As friends, Sara and Rob have a familiar, humorous and engaging style which is so important when enticing you to follow the musical pod-path they are presenting. While some of the Beatles podcasts I listen to may have richer detail they can be delivered in a very dry style. The opinions here are valid and thought provoking and are presented enthusiastically with love of the subject either Beatles or Bush. I thoroughly recommend this podcast #BeatlesBush

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/beatles-around-the-bush/id1703556185

By Gwyn Jenkins.