Alan Johnson and Robert Elms

Hello friends! This week on the show, we have two stories about growing up in London and the impact that music had on the young lives of two incredible storytellers. First up, we have a story from former Labour politician and Home Secretary, Alan Johnson. After retiring from politics, Alan published his memoir This Boy, described as ‘moving and unforgettable’ by the Sunday Times, and he’s since turned his hand to a best-selling series of crime novels, starting with The Late Train To Gipsy Hill. He’s also the only guest we’ve ever had on the show to appear on The Masked Singer… Our second story comes from legendary journalist and BBC Radio London DJ Robert Elms. Former columnist for The Face magazine, Robert claims he was very nearly in the band Spandau Ballet, and ended up becoming the UK’s foremost chronicler of the New Romantic movement. His radio show on BBC Radio London has been running since 1994, and his memoir London Made Us was pulblished in 2019. Unfortunately, due to rights reasons, we can’t play our storytellers’ chosen songs in the podcast, but you can listen to them by following these links: It Won’t Be Long - The Beatleshttps://music.apple.com/gb/album/it-wont-be-long/1441164362?i=1441164369 Soul Eyes - John Coltrane Quartethttps://music.apple.com/gb/album/soul-eyes/1440912188?i=1440912579 If you’ve enjoyed listening to OneTrackMinds, subscribe to our Substack so you’ll never miss another episode. Huge thanks, as always, to our producer Haresh Patel. Thanks for listening - we’ll be back again next week with more stories about life-changing songs. KB. Next Show - September 19th | Tickets Here Listen to Our Podcast | Substack | Apple Podcasts | Spotify Follow Us | Instagram | TikTok This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onetrackminds.substack.com