It took a moment or two to register - had I heard it correctly? - then I realised that, yes, I had. The writers of Coronation Street, once again, dropped in a cheeky little name reference that could so easily pass by all but the most attentive of us. I've noticed they do this from time to time, you could play 'Mancunian Characters From Popular Culture' Bingo with it - for example, in an episode a few years ago, someone casually mentioned the 'Mark E Smith Suite' in a conversation about some venue or other. Last night, we found out - but only through hearing the briefest of mentions by a hospital radio DJ in one scene - that Audrey Roberts was in the 'Tony Wilson Ward' at Weatherfield Hospital.
It prompted me to have a little rummage around the 'So It Goes' archives. Here's Tony interviewing Johnny Thunders and Walter Lure in 1978 - unfortunately I couldn't embed it, so may not be available outside the UK - but a great clip if you can watch it.
And while I'm on the subject, there haven't been any music series like 'So It Goes' for ages, have there? Much like the music papers, I relied on programmes like this in my teens to enlighten me about bands and artists, it was the only access. Watching them always felt a bit edgy - they ventured into the margins. Also, looking back you realise just how chaotic and unpredictable interviews tended to be - when did things become so slick and palatable?!
