Word In Your Ear There are only three Rock National Treasures – and we name them!
Feb 22, 2026
Keith Adsley, longtime supporter and birthday quizmaster, brings music-meets-sport anecdotes and a playful American college football walk-on music quiz. Short takes range from which British rock figures qualify as national treasures to Ramones ringtones in the library, Jim Steinman’s unsellable house, reusing protest songs, and how sporting spectacles resuscitate pop hits.
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Three British Rock National Treasures
- Mark Ellen argues Britain only has a handful of rock national treasures, naming Kate Bush, Madness and John Otway as prime examples.
- He cites Kate's mystique, Madness's British cartoonishness and Otway's cult gig legacy (5,973 shows, headbutt stories).
Ramones Ringtone Ruins British Library Silence
- David Hepworth recounts a Ramones ringtone ripping the silence in the British Library reading room.
- He describes the scene: distant Blitzkrieg riff, a leather-jacketed man fumbling to silence his phone amid stunned readers.
Protest Songs Must Be Simple And Singable
- David and Mark say modern protest songs risk being 'high-minded think-pieces' and must be instantly singable to work.
- They argue effective protest songs need simple, catchy choruses and emotional clarity, not complexity.