E32: Go-go in D.C. + Anita Ward audio + Felix Dennis and the Oz Trial

For this week's episode, Mark, Barney and Jasper look back at Go-Go, the funk 'n' roll sound of Washington, D.C.. Discussing its influences on Swing Beat and its intersections with hip-hop, they revisit classic Go-Go articles by the NME's Richard Grabel (1984) and Simon Witter (1987), plus Don Snowden's tribute to "Go-Go godfather" Chuck Brown.

Your hosts then hear a clip from an 2016 audio interview with Memphis disco queen Anita Ward, who discusses life as a one-hit-wonder – and 'Ring My Bell', the No. 1 smash in question. Barney, Mark and Jasper mark five years since the death of Felix Dennis, reflecting on his experiences in the Oz Trial and his subsequent incarnation as a crack-smoking media magnate.

Rounding up highlights in the new RBP library additions, Mark starts with Mike Nesmith of the Monkees, moves on to the Grateful Dead live in Europe in 1972 Europe 72 and considers an NME Gram Parsons interview conducted not long before the country-rock icon's death in 1973. Jasper enthuses about the live sound of Oxford band Foals.

Produced by Jasper Murison-Bowie

Pieces discussed: Go-Go and Angel Dust, Go-Go not gone, Remembering Chuck Brown, Anita Ward, Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, Felix Dennis, Mike Nesmith, Rev. Gary Davis, The Grateful Dead, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan: The Rolling Thunder Revue, KISS, U2, Peter Andre, Radiohead: Hail to the Thief, Baxter Dury and Foals