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Barbara Charone

Jo is joined by Madonna’s right-hand woman, and music legend, Barbara Charone, to chat about her book Access All Areas.

Jo is joined by Madonna’s right-hand woman, and music legend, Barbara Charone, to chat about her book Access All Areas.

Access All Areas: A Backstage Pass Through 50 Years of Music and Culture tells the story of how a music-loving, budding journalist from a Chicago suburb became the defining music publicist of her generation. She’s worked with a myriad of stars including Elvis Costello, Keith Richards, Rod Stewart, Foo Fighters and of course, Madonna.

Born in Chicago, Barbara Charone moved to London after graduating from Northwestern University. The first half of her career was spent as a music journalist working for NME, Sounds, Rolling Stone, Crawdaddy and Cream before writing the authorised biography Keith Richards: Life As A Rolling Stone in 1979.

First as a journalist and then a publicist at Warner Brothers Records for nearly twenty years, Barbara Charone has experienced, first-hand, the changes in the cultural landscape. Access All Areas is a personal, insightful and humorous memoir packed with stories of being on the cultural frontline, from first writing press releases on a typewriter driven by Tip Ex, then as a press officer for heavy metal bands taking the bus up to Donnington Festival with coffee, croissants and the much more popular sulfate. To taking on Madonna, an unknown girl from Detroit, and telling Smash Hits 'you don't have to run the piece if the single doesn't chart', and becoming a true pioneer in music.

In November 2000, after almost 20 years at Warner Brothers, Barbara co-founded leading independent music agency MBCPR with Moira Bellas where she still works now. Within six months it became one of the country’s top music PR firms. The current client roster includes: Madonna, Mark Ronson, Foo Fighters, Elvis Costello, Keith Richards, Rod Stewart, Kasabian, Metallica, Depeche Mode, Texas, Rag’n’Bone Man, St Vincent, Pearl Jam, Olly Murs, Ray Davies and Rufus Wainwright.

Barbara Charone is one of the most respected women working in the music business.

1 hour, 30 minutes

Last on

Mon 8 Aug 2022 19:30

Music Played

  • The Killers

    boy

    • (CD Single).
    • Island.
  • Moloko

    Sing It Back

    • Club MTV (Various Artists).
    • Universal Music On Demand.
  • Poppy Ajudha

    No!

  • Bush

    Swallowed

  • Phoebe Bridgers

    Motion Sickness

  • Bright Eyes

    First Day Of My Life

    • SADDLE CREEK.
  • Limp Bizkit

    Rollin'

    • Rollin'.
    • Flip Records, Interscope Records.
    • 1.
  • Confidence Man

    Holiday

    • Tilt.
    • Heavenly Recordings.
  • Olivia Newtonâ€John

    Hopelessly Devoted To You

    • Grease (Original Movie Soundtrack).
    • Polydor.
  • Lissie

    Nightmoves

    • Carving Canyons.
    • Lionboy Records.
  • Bob Marley & The Wailers

    Jamming

  • William Orbit

    Bank of Wildflowers (feat. Georgia)

    • WMG.

Broadcast

  • Mon 8 Aug 2022 19:30