Acclaimed music journalist, broadcaster and author Pete Paphides is the special guest on the 100th episode of the Nostalgia Interviews podcast, hosted by the University’s Dr Chris Deacy.
The Nostalgia Interviews focus on the childhood years and early life of the guests, looking to provide insight into the motivations and development of their careers and achievements.
For this landmark episode, Pete Paphides discusses his memoir Broken Greek – A Story of Chip Shops and Pop Songs. During the discussion, he revisits his very early memory of sitting in his parents’ car and hearing Leo Sayer’s ‘When I Need You’, recalling having selective mutism from the ages of four to seven, and explains how music was a proxy means by which he understood his life.
Born in Birmingham to a Greek Cypriot father and a Greek mother, Pete Paphides studied philosophy at the University of Wales. He then went on to write for publications including Melody Maker, Q and Time Out, and was the chief rock critic for The Times. He has also made programmes for BBC 4 and BBC 6 Music. In 2019, he launched the record label Needle Mythology ‘because there were a bunch of records that I wanted to have in my collection and I didn’t, because they just didn’t exist on vinyl. So I had to put them out myself.’
Broken Greek- A Story of Chip Shops and Pop Songs was described as ‘Lip-lickingly, dance-around-the-living-room good… A smash hit’ (Observer), ‘Unflinching and heartwarming’ (Adam Kay) and ‘Tender, clever and as funny as it gets … a heart-piercing joy’ (Lauren Laverne).
The Nostalgia Interviews podcast began in May 2018, as Dr Deacy looked to promote research projects of colleagues and their motivation for them. Focusing on theoretical topics, the podcast has featured renowned sociologists, psychologists, philosophers and theologians, all discussing their personal nostalgia and how this directed their lives and careers.
The 100th episode of the Nostalgia Interviews podcast with Pete Paphides is available here.
