"Devil's Radio" was inspired by a church billboard Harrison had seen stating "Gossip: The Devil's Radio...Don't Be a Broadcaster." The song's theme is an attack on gossip, trivia and cynical talk radio which spreads inaccuracies and falsehoods. This point is driven home by the line "You wonder why I don't hang out much/I wonder how you can't see." "Devil's Radio" begins with a repeated recitation of the word "Gossip" before launching in the verses describing the evils of gossip. Chip Madinger and Mark Easter wrote that the music was inspired by the
Eurythmics, making it one of the few songs in which Harrison was influenced by contemporary musical trends. Harrison biographer Simon Leng described the music accompaniment as Harrison's most aggressive since "
Wah-Wah" in 1971 and described the style of the music as
rockabilly. Leng compared the opening of "Devil's Radio" to songs of
Chuck Berry and particularly praised Harrison's vocal and the
counterpoint provided by
Eric Clapton, who played guitar on the song along with Harrison. The other musicians who performed on the song were
Elton John on piano,
Jeff Lynne on
bass guitar and keyboards,
Ringo Starr on drums and
Ray Cooper on percussion. ==Reception==