David Bowie - Rupert 1957

ziggy stardust/fan

Starman on the radio. Ziggy on the screen. A youth rewired in real time. In this episode, I dive in with Rupert to explore the moments where Bowie didn’t just soundtrack life — he edited it. We trace that rush from Space Oddity to Starman, the glam years that made risk feel normal, and the Berlin experiments that taught us how silence, texture and pulse can move you every bit as much as melody. It’s a listener’s journey through eras, not a museum tour: the missed tickets at Earl’s Court, the summer of Station to Station, the cigarettes and shirts we copied without thinking, and the way “Heroes” can still lift a room with a single line.

We talk about why the 70s remain such a creative apex — Low’s fractured beauty, “Heroes” as both anthem and art — and why the 80s deserve a fair hearing. Let’s Dance didn’t just top charts; it proved Bowie could bridge art rock and pop without losing his nerve. Along the way, we revisit films like The Man Who Fell to Earth, the shock of The Next Day arriving out of nowhere, and the stark brilliance of Blackstar. That final album feels like a coded letter — mortal, inventive, and deeply alive — with Lazarus turning farewell into craft.

Across favourite tracks and deep cuts — Life on Mars?, Rebel Rebel, Always Crashing in the Same Car, Joe the Lion — we keep circling the same truth: Bowie turned reinvention into a discipline and made curiosity a habit. His influence is everywhere: in fashion, in stagecraft, in the confidence to shift lanes when the work demands it. Press play to walk through the eras with us, remember the gigs, and maybe find a new doorway into a song you thought you knew. And if this conversation sparks a memory of your own, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and tell me your gateway Bowie track.

Send us a text

“Follow Longtime Ago People wherever you get your podcasts.”

Copy this RSS feed and paste it into your podcast app.

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2503597.rss

Instagram: @longtimeagopeople

Blog: longtimeagopeople.com

Have a story echoing through time? I’m listening—300 words or fewer.

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."

Jim & George - Ian 1947

grandfather/father/son

A family line can stretch across continents and still feel like one village street. In this episode, I sit down with my second cousin Ian, and we unspool a life that begins in Windhoek, runs through Cape Town and “East London”, South Africa, and eventually finds its footing back in Sussex after his father’s illness forces a return none of them expected. The grief in that chapter is real and immediate, but what follows is practical, determined, and brave: his mother retraining at night school, finding work in Portslade, and rebuilding a home almost from scratch.

What gives Ian’s story its heartbeat is his grandfather, Jim — a restless Sussex character who auctioneered cattle and furniture, bought the Three Tuns, and, by moonlight, muffled horses’ hooves to haul French brandy over the Downs. He rented out his bathroom on Fridays, posted auction bills from a black trade bike, and taught two wide‑eyed boys to fish eels from the River Adur, pluck chickens, and turn allotment rows into dinner. These scenes of rural English life sit beautifully alongside Ian’s sharp memories of South Africa: Manikin Cigars flying from a carnival float, a grassfire racing up a hillside, and a beach lagoon walled off against sharks.

Years later, Ian and his brother return just before the COVID shutdown, driving the Garden Route in a Mercedes van, weighing up Cape Town property by wind and elevation, and confronting East London’s uneasy streets lined with wire and idle youth. Somewhere in the middle of all this, an almost‑career in aviation gives way to a calling discovered by chance in a sixth‑form classroom — a reminder of how a single opportunity can quietly redirect a life.

If you’re drawn to family history, migration stories, and the quiet heroism of starting over, this conversation blends memoir, social history, and the kind of details you can smell and taste: mackerel teas, blue paint on your hands, and the hush of horses crossing the Downs.

Send us a text

“Follow Longtime Ago People wherever you get your podcasts.”

Copy this RSS feed and paste it into your podcast app.

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2503597.rss

Instagram: @longtimeagopeople

Blog: longtimeagopeople.com

Have a story echoing through time? I’m listening—300 words or fewer.

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."

Wiggy, Doris, Mick, Peter & more - Sean 1965

grans & uncles/grandson & nephew

In this episode, I sit down with Sean to share vivid snapshots of Wiggy, A grandmother named for her hair, the Londoner who never quite forgave leaving the city, and Ron, the quiet man who gave up inheritance for marriage and then left for war. What starts as a conversation about a beloved gran becomes a richer look at class, place, and the grit of making a home when everything moves faster than your heart can follow.

We trace the years from a teenage pregnancy before the war, through a bungalow built in haste, to Sundays filled with warm egg sandwiches in a house mysteriously heated by fan blowers. The reveal—Ron’s cheeky electric rewire—lands like a family legend: practical, daring, and just a little bit unlawful. Alongside Wiggy stands Doris, Sean's maternal gran, another Londoner who rode the bus back to dance halls every weekend—proof that some places never stop calling.

The conversation shifts to time and its tools—how older hands meet modern screens. Teaching an iPad to a parent becomes a window into empathy, patience, and the wonder of seeing a face across oceans. We talk about Uncle Mick, the young man who left for South Africa and flew high before life tempered the gloss, and how his path shaped the next generation’s sense of risk and return.

Through grief, humour, and the stubborn details of memory, we make a case for why grandparents matter: they are our first lessons in loss, and our clearest proof that ordinary lives carry extraordinary weight.

Pass this episode to someone who still remembers the smell of Sunday tea. Your memories might be the chapter someone else needs.

Send us a text

“Follow Longtime Ago People wherever you get your podcasts.”

Copy this RSS feed and paste it into your podcast app.

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2503597.rss

Instagram: @longtimeagopeople

Blog: longtimeagopeople.com

Have a story echoing through time? I’m listening—300 words or fewer.

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind."