Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
05:59 - Fruupp
11:19 - The secret of good agenting
15:19 - Dynamic pricing
18:48 - Band dynamics
23:49 - Artists and advice
25:38 - Writing books
40:15 - Current and future tours


In the 70s Paul Charles wrote lyrics for an Irish prog band. Now he writes mystery novels. Inbetween he’s been agent for Tom Waits, Nick Lowe, Van Morrison, Hothouse Flowers and many others and has forgotten more about live shows than most of us will ever know. Here he talks about:

•⁠ ⁠hearing the Beatles for the first time through the family radio
•⁠ ⁠meeting Tom Waits in a queue at Tower Records in Hollywood
•⁠ ⁠why he likes to watch the way bands take the stage
•⁠ ⁠the changes he’s seen in the live music landscape
•⁠ ⁠why everybody suddenly wants to tour
•⁠ ⁠what will change about ticket prices and what probably won’t
•⁠ ⁠why the artist doesn’t want to see his agent in the bar after the show
•⁠ ⁠what it’s like when Jackson Browne plays you his new record
•⁠ ⁠why his latest McCusker mystery is called “Hi Love, You Just Dropped Your Glove”

Order “Hi Love, You Just Dropped Your Glove”: amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0GTC3M9CW/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0

Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock going: patreon.com/wordinyourear