White Rabbit launches a new podcast, Songbook, presented and written by Jude Rogers

White Rabbit Books announce the launch of Songbook - a podcast about music books that shape our lives, presented by the award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author Jude Rogers.

Each episode will feature Jude in conversation with a special guest dissecting one exciting music book in detail. From cult classics to gripping memoirs, pageturners to potboilers, overlooked mainstream gems to indie curios, Songbook celebrates the art and the thrill of music writing and the way these books allow us to immerse ourselves in the world of our favourite musicians or the world that surrounds them.

The first season will feature an impressive list of guests ranging from authors to musicians, broadcasters and journalists, including Brett Anderson, Shirley Collins, Stephanie Phillips (Big Joanie), Ian Rankin, Adelle Stripe, Zakia Sewell and more. The episodes will be published weekly, starting from 21 July with each episode focusing on a different book.

The series will kick off with an episode dedicated to Fred Vermorel’s wickedly sharp, multifaceted - and often filthy - oral history of pop fandom, Starlust, chosen by Jude to discuss with one of her favourite musicians from her teenage years, Brett Anderson. Jude and Brett will dissect Vermorel’s critically acclaimed portrait of 1980s-era pop adoration and obsession, full of stories of lonely, love-struck teens, androgynous Bowie disciples and housewife-devotees of Barry Manilow, and use the book as a springboard to discuss Brett’s own experiences of fandom, from both sides of the stage.

The first season of Songbook will take us on a journey around the world and through time; from Jackie Kay’s electrifying experimental biography of the “Empress of Jazz” Bessie Smith to Deborah Curtis’ unflinchingly honest and sorrowful portrait of her marriage and life with Ian Curtis; Kristin Hersh’s uncannily raw autobiographical account of a year that changed her life before Throwing Muses, and Alan Lomax’s vivid tales of the blues and traditional music of America.

Presenter Jude Rogers: “I love broadcasting and interviewing so much – and my house is sinking under the weight of all of my beloved music books – so I’m very excited to be able to introduce Songbook to you all. It’s so important to me that Songbook rages against the idea of a conservative canon, and is surprising, entertaining, diverse, and properly accessible. The guests - all brilliant people from the worlds of music performance, writing and broadcasting, with great ideas, and lots to say - absolutely make it. I can’t wait for you to listen.

Publisher of White Rabbit, Lee Brackstone: “It’s so exciting to be stepping into the podcast space with White Rabbit. It feels like a very organic move for us and we are so lucky to have Jude Rogers, the most naturally gifted of broadcasters, hosting and interviewing an exceptional first line-up of guests from the music and literary worlds.”