Episode 231: Geoffrey Cannon on the ’60s + the Guardian + Jack Bruce audio

In this episode we invite the pioneering Geoffrey Cannon to reminisce about his stint as The Guardian's rock critic between 1968 and 1972.

Commencing with the pop baptism of his first hearing Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers in a Horsham record booth in 1956, our guest talks us through his early work for New Society and The Listener — including his prescient reviews of albums by the Velvet Underground and the Mothers of Invention. He also explains how the 1969 Granada film Johnny Cash at San Quentin came about.

Geoffrey then recounts how he pitched a weekly rock column to Guardian editor Peter Preston, and how he sustained it from late 1968 until 1972 while simultaneously editing the Radio Times.

Clips from the late Pete Makowski's 2008 audio interview with Jack Bruce give us a chance to discuss the origins of Cream, and how the relative innocence of the '60s collapsed into the druggy decadence of the '70s.

The conversation with Geoffrey concludes with our guest's post-rock adventures in writing about health and nutrition, plus his 2000 uprooting to Brazil and subsequent love of singers such as Belchior and Caetano Veloso.

Finally, William and Jasper talk us out with their thoughts on articles about Ornette Coleman (1969), Plastic Bertrand (1978), Jools Holland (2004) and James Blake (2025).

Many thanks to special guest Geoffrey Cannon.

Pieces discussed: Pop Music Democratised, Mother's Rites: Freak Out/Absolutely Free, Aesthetics of Outrage, Johnny Cash at San Quentin was my idea, Jack Bruce audio, Plastic Bertrand, Jools Holland, Second opinion: Ornette Coleman and James Blake is taking on TikTok, Live Nation and 'Free Music'.