Public Address Podcast

Public Address: THE MAINSTREAM ALTERNATIVE "Folk music existed in a small narrow world of its own until Bob Dyla dragged it screaming into pop. The music of hope is everywhere, all you have to doi is listen for it. Rock and roll was the victory of regional locality over the world, of precise beliefs over general theory, of particular feelings over universal philosophies". Charlie Gillett, DJ and Writer Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: IT’S ALL HAPPENING! “I basically found myself in a video one day and there were all these people around me talking a strange language, so I basically decided to do something about it. I went to a place called the Actors Centre, read a lot of books and talked to a lot of people. When you're making a record you get all these ideas fortunes and sounds in your head and it's much less frustrating once you learn the technicalities behind them when doing the video. The recording side wasn't too bad because I'd done four albums with The Undertones, and you have to learn something even if you're not paying attention all the time. I went in and explained to people how to achieve the ideas I have in my head." Feargal Sharkey Former lead singer The Undertones, now environmentalist. Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025  

Public Address: ALL THE MUSIC YOU NEVER KNEW YOU NEEDED “I was wearing black clothes almost from the beginning. I feel comfortable in black. I felt like black looked good onstage, that it was attractive, so I started wearing it all the time.” Johnny Cash Musician (The Man in Black) Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

AMERICANA A Public Address Music Special - Americana – a chance to listen to and enjoy some contemporary music that emanates from and incorporates elements of various American roots music styles. Americana is an amalgam of American music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the musical ethos of the USA, specifically those sounds that emerged from the Southern States such as folk, gospel, blues, country, jazz, rhythm & blues, rock'n'roll, bluegrass, delta and other externall influences. Written Produced and Presented by THOM MCKEOWN © 2025

Public Address: ALWAYS BE LISTENING “By the time I came down to London, I was full of ambition. I remember one of the guys at Rough Trade taking me into a room, like the headmaster’s office — this ex-public school boy — and told me, ‘I hear you’ve been slagging off Rough Trade.’ I think I’d said something about their distribution in an interview. He went, ‘Well, we’re not in the business of making pop stars here.’ And I said, ‘I’ve noticed.’ I was arrogant enough to think that my stuff was too good to be buried.” Roddy Frame Musician Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: NEW COUNTRY Story songs are one of new country music's greatest assets. Telling stories that hook listeners has been a hallmark of the genre since it evolved some years ago. Many artists into the 21st century, have recorded vivid stories set to music in a fresh era of New Country. In this special edition of Public Address, you’ll hear some of the very best story songs in this field. These performers, and the writers behind these tunes, have captured listeners' attention with their impressive attention to detail. Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: SONIC BURST! "People become so deeply attached to the sound of one period that they blow a fuse when you move on. I've heard people complain bitterly about recordings they haven't even heard". Elvis Costello Musician Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: PLEASURE THROUGH MUSIC "Music is about intensity with all the rest being just noise. It is a flowing art-form and everything is in motion. Music creation is a form of work, emphasising our self-sufficiency as in a workshop-like approach to making it." Ralf Hütter Kraftwerk Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: DAVID BOWIE - HIS LIFE AND MUSIC - & HIS MUSIC CHOICES David Bowie, original name David Robert Jones (1947-2016) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who was best known for his shifting personae and musical genre-hopping. In this three-hour Public Address Special – over the initial two hours, you will hear the story of his astonishing life and exemplary career - and of course his outstanding music. Then the final hour will be devoted to a specially constructed and edited section - with David Bowie choosing some of his favourite pieces of music. Written Produced Edited and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: GROOVY, BABY! "For me, everything definitely comes from music. I shared my love for playing the ukulele and participating in "battles of the bands" with my friends, showcasing my personal enjoyment and engagement with music.” Mike Myers Actor  Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: AGAINST THE MAINSTREAM “When you sing with a group of people, you learn how to subsume yourself into a group consciousness because acapella singing is all about the immersion of the self into the community. That's one of the great feelings - to stop being me for a little while and to become us. That way lies empathy, the great social virtue.” Brian Eno Musician Written Curated and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025  

Public Address: CONTINUUM A Public Address Special offering a two hour-plus completely uninterrupted session of diverse, extraordinary, ambient, creative and rhythmic melodies for your aural pleasure. Produced Mixed Edited and Curated by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY? “In most music there is an accumulation of torment for those that refuse to capitalise solely through mediocre channels and as a result are ejected back onto the concrete.” Jason Williamson, Sleaford Mods Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: A SHOT OF RHYTHM AND GROOVES "To a certain extent, music is a celebration of individuality and with it you can invent and reinvent yourself. You have the power to do that - it should release you, it shouldn't box you in." Neil Tennant, Musician Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: GROOVES FOR THE REBEL SET "It is not my fault that certain so-called bohemian elements have found something in music to hang their peculiar beatnik theories on." Jack Kerouac Novelist and Poet Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: IT'S A DOOZY! "Rock'n'roll is the hamburger that ate the world..." Peter York Cultural Commentator Written Poduced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: LIMINAL SPACE 'There's always the possibility that you're going to come across a record that transforms your life, and it happens constantly. It's what makes enjoying listening to music so fascinating - and it's what makes life interesting. It's fantastic." John Peel Broadcaster Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: YOUR IDEAL AUDIO RENDEZVOUS "I knew I wanted to be in music, but I didn't know my role, so I did everything from interning at Rolling Stone to writing heavy metal fanzines to playing in a high-school band, and I think all those things probably helped in a way." Mark Ronson, Musician Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: R.P.M. “I remember being given a demo of the 'World Wide Web' at Peter Gabriel's studio in the early 90s, and I had zero comprehension that I was staring into the future. I was just happy with my pager, and teletext on the TV.” Robert Del Naja aka 3D, Musician (Massive Attack) Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025

Public Address: THE DIGITAL GRAMOPHONE "I think we've always been a bit delusional and at the start we really did feel we were a cool, British-style band, but it was apparently not connecting in that way, and was always seen as something more esoteric and odd. But then in failing to emulate British bands, a style emerged that became what we are". Russell Mael, Sparks Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2025