Music Talks

My guest in this episode is Craig Colby, a master storyteller with a successful 30-year award winning career in television working for The Sports Network and the Discovery Channel amongst others. In 2017, the opportunity of losing his job presented itself and he set up his own story telling company Colbyvision. He now spends his time helping production companies broadcasters and business owners make top-notch programs & tell their stories.  He also has one of my favourite Lockdown stories. Craig connected with people over Facebook by wearing a different hat each day for 125 days and people then shared their hats in the comments. At the behest of his mother this then became his first book ‘ALL CAPS: Stories That Justify an Outrageous Hat Collection’ which won the Non-Fiction Category at The Canadian Book Awards in 2022. Craig comes to Music Talks via my dear friend Jesse Jackson from the Set Lusting Bruce Podcast. Jesse’s intro mail included the great line ‘Craig’s book is Music Talks with hats!’ – how could I resist. The book is available on Amazon but if you are in the UK and want a physical copy it currently ships from the U.S. but believe me its worth the wait! It’s no surprise that Craig has a compelling story to tell with lots of great insights and observations. He also put a lot of work into making song selections that have a personal connection but also have a connection to what was going on in the wider world.  Craig’s song selections were: 60’s      -           Love Child                                         -           Diana Ross & The Supremes 70’s      -           Don’t Take Away The Music   -           Tavares80’s      -           Modern Love                                   -           David Bowie90’s      -           Fumbling Towards Ectasy        -           Sarah McLachlan00’s      -           Lonesome Day                                -           Bruce Springsteen10’s      -           Tightrope                                           -           Janelle Monae20’s      -           As It Was                                             -           Harry Styles Enjoy :-)If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Marian Jago, Senior Lecturer in Popular Music and Jazz Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Marian comes to Music Talks through the miracle and wonder of social media and a shared love of the music of Bruce Springsteen. I saw a post in a fan group on Facebook that said, ‘my course on Bruce Springsteen’ and that was Marian. We got into a dialogue and to my amazement she was teaching her course ‘Three Minute Records’ at my local university in Edinburgh.  Inevitably we talk about Bruce and the course, but we cover a lot more ground than that in this episode.Prior to becoming an academic Marian was a Producer of Live Concerts and Events before dedicating herself to becoming a Jazz Saxophonist. It’s a remarkable story of commitment and determination where she gets to meet, and is consistently helped by, a host of jazz luminaries from Canada and the US, and this culminates in Lee Konitz the composer and saxophonist being her tutor for eight years. Like many people I have a very romantic view of the life of a professional musician and Marian does a great job of painting a picture of the harsh reality whilst also saying ‘this was the happiest time of my life’. Though now living in Edinburgh Marian is Canadian and that is a theme that runs through our conversation and not just in terms of some of her choices. Regarding choices Marian is transparent about her dislike of rules and authority and so she submitted two sets of song choices to me for the episode – ‘The Rule Abiding List’ and ‘The Alternative List’. You will need to listen to get the full story but here is the ‘Rule Abiding List’. 70’s - Another Brick in The Wall  -               Pink Floyd80’s - Down in The Bottom              -               Colin James90’s - The Obvious Child                   -               Paul Simon 00’s - It’s Alright with Me                  -               Murley-Bickert-Wallace  10’s - At Transformation                    -               The Tragically Hip 20’s – If I Was The Priest                    -               Bruce Springsteen Outro – Welcome to Hard Times  -               Charley Crockett Enjoy 😊If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Brian MacKay who was introduced to Music Talks by Roy Sharples my guest in Episode 61. (Thanks Roy!) Bryan is just 50 and works in a third sector charity.  He lives in Peterhead, a large fishing port in Aberdeenshire, with his wife, 4 children and a Cockapoo acquired during Covid. Like me Bryan is the youngest in his family but in his case, he had three older sisters and on his own admittance was spoilt rotten as a child. Since 2015 he has been a keen runner and next month, he will run his first Marathon and an Ultra Marathon is the eventual goal. That sort of commitment and determination can also be seen in Bryan’s obsessive love of bands and music, and he has some great stories to tell, including how Lana Del ray made him late for work.!. His musical taste is genuinely wide ranging, and I can’t wait to pull together the Playlist for this episode as he touched on so many great artists in our chat. Bryan’s song choices are: 70’s -     Please Mr. Postman -                                  Carpenters80’s -     Waterfall -                                                        The Stone Roses90’s -     Dead Flag Blues -                                         Godspeed You! Black Emperor    00’s -     Slow Show                                                       The National10’s -     Video Games                                                  Lana Del Rey 20’s -     Death Is Not The End                                Embrace                                                           If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Henrik Johnson, who is my first guest from Sweden. Henrik was born and grew up in a small town called Karlskoga which is between Stockholm and Oslo. Whilst not ‘desperate to get out ‘he left Karlskoga at the first opportunity and has subsequently lived & worked on three continents including stints in Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Greece. For the past 20 years home has been Southern California where he lives today in Newport Beach with his wife Lisa and their 6-year-old daughter Sarah. Henrik’s story is one of grabbing opportunities when they come up (even if it takes you to a war zone) , making what you enjoy your guiding light and recognising that necessity is the mother of invention.  It also contains a brilliantly romantic story of him, very uncharacteristically, inviting Lisa his wife on a sailing holiday in the Caribbean after their first date! Like many of my guests Henrik shares a twin passion for music and technology and you can see this running through his music choices. Not surprisingly though he starts with Abba and the delights of Eurovision, and because of the brilliant story above I made an exception and allowed Henrik to choose his first dance song at his wedding for the 2010’s His song choices are: 70’s        Waterloo                                                              Abba80’s        Just Can’t Get Enough                                  Depeche Mode90’s        Friday I’m In Love                                             The Cure00’s        Nothing But You (PvD Radio Mix)          Paul Van Dyk 10’s        What A Wonderful World                           Louis Armstrong 20’s        You Are                                                                   Gareth Emery                                                  If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest on this episode is Christina Boubalou who comes to the show via an introduction from a previous guest Roy Sharples (Ep.61). Thanks for the intro Roy, and your continued support. I’m delighted to say that Christina is my first guest from Greece, and she is a true Athenian. She has lived there all her life and continues to live there today along with her husband who was her best friend in high school! Christina always thought she would become a chemist but through a set of happy accidents she started her working career in 1997 in the music industry with Virgin Records. She later moved into Marketing & PR in the corporate world but describes her time in the music industry as ‘the best job I ever had’. In her own words she has always been ‘obsessed with music’ and on numerous occasions it has been her ‘saviour and salvation’. She talks fondly about the challenges of getting to hear music and see live shows in Greece and for me that was a timely reminder of how spoiled we were musically growing up in the UK or the US. At the end of the day though music lovers will always find a way. Whilst I wasn’t aware when Roy made the introduction Christina is also a big fan of Springsteen and on July 23rd she will be in Munich for the first time to see him live, I just wish I could be there with her 😊 In addition to her song choices Christina also chose a word to describe each decade and I have included these below. Enjoy! 70’s -     Birth                     Love Is The Drug                              Roxy Music 80’s -     Dream                 Livin’ On A Prayer                            Bon Jovi 90’s -     Adulthood         Dance Of The Bad Angels          Tim Booth, Angelo Badalamenti 00’s -     Reinvention      Hung Up                                                Madonna 10’s -     Maturity             Jenny Of Oldstones                       Florence + The Machine 20’s -     Cycle                      Nightshift                                            Bruce SpringsteenIf you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is author, speaker & entrepreneur, Penny Power, OBE. I first met Penny in the late 90’s when she had just started the first Social Network, Ecademy with the declared aim of helping business people achieve success through online tools, community, and friendship. At that time there were a lot of people talking about online tools but very few talking about community, friendship and love , all of which have permeated Penny’s work throughout her career. The intro to her 2018 book ‘Business is Personal’ says ‘Penny has poured her heart into this book, and it is incredibly revealing’ and I feel very privileged that she did the same in our conversation. It would be easy for Penny to paint a rose-tinted picture of the journey she has been on, and she is the first to say she has much to be grateful for. But alongside that, life has thrown up some massive challenges, awful luck, and real tragedy. Penny takes us through both sides of that story in the open, honest, and authentic way that is her trademark and I find it genuinely inspirational. I always tell my guests:  ‘it’s completely up to you how you want to approach the episode and the story you want to tell. All episodes are a mix of music nerdery and life story but the balance between them is different for each guest/episode which is one of the joys for me. This is an episode that is more focussed on the life story, but Penny’s song choices enhance her story so much and I would be surprised if you don’t choke up to at least one of them (and I’m very glad I allowed Penny two songs from the same artist) Her song choices are: 60’s        Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da                                    The Beatles 70’s        Solitaire                                                                Carpenters80’s        One Moment in Time                                   Whitney Houston90’s        Get There                                                            Oleta Adams00’s        I Didn’t Know My Own Strength           Whitney Houston10’s        Just the Way You Are                                   Bruno Mars20’s        The Rose                                                              Bette MidlerIf you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode has two names! In his day to day life he is Noury Bernard-Hasan , or in true rock star style simply ‘Noury’ to anyone who knows him.  However, for the last 15+ years he has also been a semi-professional Blues musician and he performs under the name of ‘Son Jack Jr’.  Born in 1962, shortly after his parents emigrated to England from India, Noury grew up around West Kensington and the Hammersmith Road. His love of music started at an early age when he was given his first guitar by Manny Elias who went on to be the drummer with Tears for Fears in their heyday. Noury was not a fan of Progressive Rock or Disco and in 1973 the film American Graffiti resulted in in a dalliance with playing Rock & Roll over the next couple of years. But all that changed on his 15th Birthday (7/02/77) when he went to The Nashville Room and saw a band he’d never heard of – The Jam! The world was never the same for Noury after that night and subsequently he was in a band who released an album and were well known on ‘the London Scene’. As is so often the case though the band eventually petered out and in the early 80’s, encouraged by his girlfriend at the time, Noury enrolled on a programming course convincing himself this was another creative outlet. Cobol and writing Capex systems for Hertz didn’t initially deliver against that brief but it did lead to a successful 30-year career with Microsoft and then Amazon from which he recently retired at the end of last year. Whilst working for Microsoft he moved to Seattle in 1997 which reignited his interest in music and resulted in a massive life change. In the city of grunge Noury developed an interest and then a deep passion for the Blues which kick-started his semi pro career as Son Jack Jr. His passion for the Blues comes across loud and clear in this episode and I for one learnt a lot. It’s also great to hear him talk how he got to support Charlie Musselwhite and Chuck Berry amongst others. Noury moved back to the UK in the summer of 2020 with his wife and their 17-year-old daughter and in December of last year he announced his retirement from corporate life. Which of course leaves a lot more time for music. A new band is being put together as we speak, and I can’t wait to see them live. I hope you enjoy our conversation half as much as I did. If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is renowned UK illustrator Ian Wright. His work as a commercial illustrator has spanned four decades, starting with his illustrative cover of The Undertones’ Teenage Kicks 7” single in the late 1970s, progressing with his illustrative artwork in The Face magazine in their 1980s heyday and his famous weekly black and white portraits for the New Musical Express (NME).Ian’s subsequent work has involved collaboration with many famous names and brands including Issy Miyake, Givenchy and portraits of Sun Ra, Motorhead and Grandmaster Flash. In a delightfully wide-ranging chat, in both musical choices and subject matter, amongst other things we talk about: ·        Ian’s love of Radio, initially inspired by his dad ‘streaming’ Radio Luxembourg into his bedroom on a Friday night ·        The life-changing impact of Hendrix’s appearance on the Happening for Lulu         show in January 1969 ·        The influence of Bob Harris and John Peel·        Developing a passion for Reggae in the 70’s that continues to this day ·        What is was like working on NME & The Face in the 80’s ·        Pete Townsend making him a coffee (Ian doesn’t drink coffee) ·        Moving to New York in the 00's & working to a soundtrack of the (then unreleased) Beatles Remasters ·        Coming full circle and in March last year getting his own Radio show on Charlie Bones Do!! You!! Radio (https://doyouworld/) Ian’s song choices are appropriately wide ranging and were: 50’s      Summertime                             Ella Fitzgerald. Louis Armstrong       60’s      If 6 Was 9                                    The Jimi Hendrix Experience70’s      Dub With A Difference       Harry Mudie 80’s      Kalimankou Denkou              The Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir90’s      All Is Full Of Love                      Bjork00’s      King In My Empire                    Rhythm & Sound10’s      Rock The Machine                    Lisa O’Neill 20’s      Time Is Precious                         SAULT             If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

This time of year isn’t just the season of goodwill it’s also the season of “Best Of” lists and it’s part of the musical year that I love. It’s always good to know that things you like are also enjoyed by others but the real joy for me is gaining new insight into albums I’ve enjoyed or discovering albums that I have missed. My hope is that this episode will do some of that for you. As in previous years I am joined by my Podcast pal Steven Routledge and we both talk through our Top 10 albums and play a short clip from each of them. In this part we count down from 10 to 5 and in Part 2 (released on 29/12/22) we go from 5 to 1. You can use 'Chapter Markers' to see our choices (they are shown as artist & album) and also listen to individual choices if you wish. Please do let me know what you think of these choices and particularly if there is new music you like. You can do that by emailing me at musictalkspod@outlook.com , I really look forward to hearing from you. Have a great Christmas and here’s to 2023 being another great year for music. If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

This is part 2 of my chat with Dermot McCormack which was an absolute delight to do and so much fun. As was the case in Pt.1 the episode has some great music choices and a wealth of fantastic stories including Dermot : Running the Digital business at MTV Breaking the world record for most concerts in 24 hours with The Flaming Lips Almost becoming CEO of Fender Guitars Getting 1 million concurrent users on a live stream Meeting Elvis Costello and so many more! Dermot's song choices were: The 00's - Do You Realize - The Flaming Lips The 10's - Give Me Everything - Pitbull, Neyo, Afrojack, Nayer The 20's - Fairytale of New York - The Pogues with Kirsty McColl And with that final song selection all that is left to say is "Happy Christmas" If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Dermot McCormack. Given his name it will be no surprise to hear that Dermot was born in Dublin in 1969 and grew up in the working-class area of Ballyfermot in the city. In the early 90’s, after a formative year in France and a summer spent in the US, he emigrated to the US which is still home to him today. For a long time, he lived in New York, but he recently moved with his wife Donna to the sunshine and sand of Manhattan Beach in California. Whilst his degree was in Electrical Engineering, he has spent his working life at the intersection of Technology, Music, Content & Entertainment. He has worked at several major companies including Viacom, AOL & MTV and highlights for me include him being part of the team that produced Rock Band Beatles Edition, powering all the music in Tesla’s and owning a Podcast company! Like all my guests Dermot has a deep love of music and wide-ranging tastes, with Tom Waits, Ska and a certain Irish band called U2 being deep favourites. Whatever your views on U2 I challenge you not to be moved and inspired by Dermot’s story of walking 10 minutes from home in 1983 to see U2 at Phoenix Park and 17 years later having dinner with Bono where he was given the nickname ‘Digital Dermot from Dublin’. Dermot's song choices in this Part. 1 episode are: 60’s       Here Comes The Sun                                                          The Beatles 70’s       I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You               Tom Waits 80’s       Ghost Town                                                                               The Specials 90’s       One                                                                                                 U2 Enjoy :-)If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

This is Part 2 of my Music Talks chat with Geoff Sutton.If you enjoyed Part 1 you will be delighted to hear that the stories and music just ‘keep on coming’ (as they used to say on the radio!) In this episode Geoff talks about a whole host of things including:  ·         His time at The Daily Mirror, The Sunday Express and Today ·         Visiting Cuba ·         Becoming a father to his two children Helen and Daniel ·         Joining Microsoft in 1996 to launch MSN News & start of an 18-year journey ·         Almost being sacked by Bill Gates because of the ‘ iLoo Project’ ·         Working on the People’s Vote Campaign ·         Learning to play the Saxophone in Lockdown ·         Becoming a Powerboat Skipper His Music choices are: 90’s - Chan Chan                               Buena Vista Social Club 00’s – All Fall Down                         Kanye West, Syleena Johnson 10’s – Waiting All Night                 Rudimental (Ft. Ella Eyre) 20’s – Betty et Zorg                         Gabriel Yared Enjoy :-)If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Geoff Sutton. The stereotype of a Microsoft employee is a Computer Sciences nerd in a check shirt and chinos. Whilst they do exist Geoff is a great example of the diversity of background and experience that existed in the company as was my previous guest Neil Jordan (7 years as a Choirister at Windsor Castle) and indeed myself with my English Lit Degree (specialist subjects - Anglo-Saxon Poetry and Medieval Mystery Plays) Geoff joined Microsoft in 1996 to set up MSN News after 16 years as a journalist, including spells at the Daily Mail, Today, Sunday Express and Daily Mirror. It’s no surprise then that he has a raft of stories and in this episode, we hear hilarious and fascinating stories about his time on Mail Showbiz including: ·       Running with Madonna ·       Being a waiter at Bill Wyman’s Wedding ·       A one-off appearance as Elvis on the West End Stage·       Motivating Boy George to kick his heroin addiction ·       Princess Di and Fergie pretending to be WPCs at Annabel’s He then moved over to News and had the challenging experience of covering three major tragedies in the UK in 87/88 namely the King’s Cross Fire, the explosion and sinking of the Piper Alpha Oil Platform and Lockerbie Terrorist Attack. \Born in Hackney but today Geoff lives in Bermondsey with his wife Asli and he has two grown-up children Helen and Daniel. He is a lifelong Arsenal fan, and he describes his early teens as being all about “Football and Music’. His passion for both continues to shine through and that includes learning to play the Saxophone in lock down (but more on that in Part 2!) . His song choices in this episode are: 60’s – Three Coins in The Fountain          Frank Sinatra70’s – No Action                                                   Elvis Costello80’s – Club Tropicana                                        Wham Enjoy 😊 If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

Neil is a 30-year I.T. veteran, the last 23 years of which have been spent at Microsoft where today he is the WW General Manager for Retail & Health Innovation. Born in Bristol he now lives in Kirkland, WA with his wife Ciara and their three young children Oliver, Archie and Ophelia, and their cat Boris. Despite a love of technology, that started at a young age, Neil’s story at its core is a musical one and he describes himself as having a lifelong ‘addiction’ to music, whether that be listening, playing, or singing. During our chat he describes the impact of music on himself in numerous ways including ‘soothing, stimulating,  solace, a release, healing and of course magic’. Some of his performance highlights include: ·       As a teenager being in a 6 piece Acapella group, ‘Ok Chorale’ who performed at the BBC, made records, & won an award at the Edinburgh Fringe·         Getting a Choral Scholarship at Trinity College Cambridge and travelling all over the world performing at the highest level·         Being a Tenor Lay Clark at St. George’s Windsor Castle and singing in the chapel each day ·         Singing the Tenor Solo at the Queen’s 70th Birthday celebration and having a ‘nice chat’ with her afterwards·         Getting a chance side-gig with the Seattle Opera that he thought was for one show (Tosca) which lasted for nine years. He also talks very honestly about having to leave the role in Windsor Castle due to the breakdown in his singing voice and facing the challenge of vocal nodules in recent years. Neil is a real student of music and I guarantee you will learn something from our chat.  I am also pretty sure it will be the only time you will hear the phrase ‘crazy enharmonic chord progression’ on Music Talks. Neil’s song selections were 60’s        Good Vibrations                               The Beach Boys 70’s        More Than A Feeling                      Boston80’s        He Knows You Know                      Marillion90’s        Something To Save                          George Michael 00’s        Just Listen                                            Ocean Lab10’s        Ophelia                                                  The Lumineers20’s        Happiness Is Easy                            Talk Talk Enjoy 😊If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Michael Elliott a DJ, radio exec, writer and a man who has overcome a lot of adversity to get to a better place today.He lives in Raleigh NC and is a southerner born and bred with all the challenges and contradictions that brings. An only child he was born with cataracts in both eyes and was partially blind until the age of 50. He grew up surrounded by a music loving family and imagination and creativity were his best friends. He developed an interest in radio at an early age and used to sit in on the morning show at his local station which led to a career of almost 30 years in radio, spanning being a live DJ through to senior management. In 2012, after long term challenges with alcohol he found sobriety which continues to this day despite several subsequent life changing challenges.During this period, he also met the love of his life Liz who he is now happily married to. Liz encouraged him to pursue his passion for music and writing and he is now a contributor to the pioneering roots music authority No Depression and his writing has also appeared in PopMatters, Americana UK, Albumism, and The Bitter Southerner.He has interviewed and produced profiles on musicians as diverse as Isaac Hayes, Charlie Daniels, Little Richard, Kurt Vile and Daniel Lanois. In September 2021 he published the critically acclaimed biography of John Hiatt entitled “Have A Little Faith’ with a foreword by Elvis Costello.  Do please look at Michael’s website https://michael-elliott.com/ where you will find numerous plaudits for his book from people such as Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash and Rodney Crowell. Michael’s song choices were:·         70’s -     East Bound and Down                                   Jerry Reed ·         80’s -     Sweetheart Like You                                       Bob Dylan·         90’s -     Buffalo River Home                                         John Hiatt·         00’s -     Get Ur Freak On                                                Missy Elliott·         10’s -     Drunk In Love                                                    Beyonce (feat. Jay-Z) ·         20’s -     I Don’t Live Here Anymore                           The War on Drugs (feat. Lucius) Enjoy ! If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

This is Part 2 of my chat with Ian Rogers .There were simply too many good stories to keep this to a single episode .Ian , in his own words: Is a skateboarder from Northern Indiana Has been a record collector since the age of 5Started programming a few years later Became a father at 17 and a grandfather at 50 Dropped out of Grad School in 1995 to go on tour with Beastie Boys Spent 20 years building digital music with Winamp, Yahoo!, Beats, & then Apple Music. Moved to Paris in 2015 to start a new career as Chief Digital Officer at LVMH Became, in Jan 2021, the Chief Experience Officer at Ledger where he’s leveraging all this experience and getting to grips  with the new world of digital assets In addition to Beastie Boys, Ian has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry including amongst others  The Pixies, Paul McCartney David Byrne, Brian Eno, Kanye West, Dr.Dre, Jimmy Iovine, and Trent Reznor,A self-declared obsessive his music knowledge and taste is both wide and very deep, with ‘challenging’ being his go to choice although Joni Mitchell and Sade do creep in to his listening habits as well. Enjoy! If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Ian Rogers who (in his own words): Is a skateboarder from Northern Indiana Has been a record collector since the age of 5Started programming a few years later Became a father at 17 and a grandfather at 50 Dropped out of Grad School in 1995 to go on tour with Beastie Boys Spent 20 years building digital music with Winamp, Yahoo!, Beats, & then Apple Music. Moved to Paris in 2015 to start a new career as Chief Digital Officer at LVMH Became, in Jan 2021, the Chief Experience Officer at Ledger where he’s leveraging all this experience and getting to grips  with the new world of digital assets In addition to Beastie Boys, Ian has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry including amongst others  The Pixies, Paul McCartney David Byrne, Brian Eno, Kanye West, Dr.Dre, Jimmy Iovine, and Trent Reznor,A self-declared obsessive his music knowledge and taste is both wide and very deep, with ‘challenging’ being his go to choice although Joni Mitchell and Sade do creep in as well. There were too many good stories to keep this to a single episode, so this is Part 1 with Part 2 to follow in a week Enjoy! If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

A MILESTONE COMPILATIONRecently Music Talks has passed several significant milestones:   ·        It’s Third Anniversary ·        20,000 downloads ·        500 Followers on Facebook ·        75 EpisodesI have done celebratory episodes at 25 and 50 episodes, and this felt like a good opportunity to look back over the past year and choose some of my favourite moments. I have chosen a different guest for each decade, and I believe these clips show the mix of music nerdery and great life stories that the show has become. I’m hoping it will also function as a nice introduction for potential guests to get a feel for what they have signed up for 😊 The clips I have chosen are 60’s       Mark Spickett (Ep.55) - A Kunle A Tewo Adura - King Sunny AdeMark is a dear friend who tells the most fascinating stories of growing up in Africa. He poses the question ‘Was Dad a Spy?' and the clip finishes with a quick Ted Talk on African music in the 60’s and the delights of the talking drum. Due to time constraints i had to edit out the story of him seeing his dad held at gun point when he was 5! 70’s       Malcolm Garrett MBE (Ep.70) - Surrounded by Stars - Amon Duul IIMalcolm is one of the most significant Graphic Designers the UK has produced, hence the MBE. He is most famous for his work in the 70’s and early 80’s with bands such Buzzcocks, Magazine, Duran Duran and Simple Minds.  In this clip Malcolm talks through his teenage years, his discovery of music, his use of hallucinogens and their impact on him and his subsequent work. He’s a fascinating man with an equally fascinating story80’s       Julie Simpson (Ep.66) - Stand and Deliver - Adam and The AntsI had the pleasure of working with Julie over many years and with good reason describe her as a ‘force of nature’. That comes across in every second of this clip where she talks us through her 80’s, her undying love for Adam and The Ants, Wham, Duran Duran and the role they play in connecting her to four friends from that time. 90’s       Nick Sheppard (Ep.53) - More - Sisters of MercyLike many guests Nick talks with disarming honesty about what was going on for him during this decade and his desire for “More’. It culminates with the brilliant statement that ‘by the end of the 90’s I was a fully loaded sales dick’! Essential listening 😊 00’s       Dave Cronen (Ep.63) Dave Cronen - Sea Song – DovesDave has never played a note of music in his life but has spent most of his career working in the music industry with bands such as Beastie Boys, At the Drive-In and Doves, who provide his song choice. Needless to say, he has fantastic stories and some great insights. 10’s Justin Steiner (Ep.64) - Everything at Once – SuperchunkJustin has an encyclopaedic knowledge of music and came to the show through my dear friend Steven Routledge and the remarkable community that is Rockin’ the Suburbs (suburbspod.com).  I owe Justin a big thanks for turning me on to one of the best albums of 2022, Superchunk’s ‘Wild Loneliness’. 20’s       Dan French (Ep.52) - Times Like These - Live Lounge AllstarsYou can’t talk about the 2020’s wIf you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Jeff Smith, MP. A recent press article highlighted that the number of ‘career politicians’ in Westminster who have never had what most of us would recognise as ‘a proper job’. It also said working class politicians were ‘an endangered species. I’m delighted to say that Jeff bucks both of those trends. Whilst Jeff grew up in a political household and studied  Politics at Manchester University  being an MP was never in the plan, as can be seen by his subsequent career choice.  After graduation he became the Entertainments Officer for Manchester Students Union which led on to a career as an event manager and DJ. He performed  regularly at V Festival and numerous club nights including  Poptastic in Manchester and Star in Leeds. He had lived almost all his life in Manchester and in 1997 he started to combine his DJ work with being a member of Manchester City Council. This eventually led in 2015 to an unexpected opportunity to become the MP for his ‘home seat’ of Withington in Manchester and he successfully regained the seat for Labour (from the Liberal Democrats). Last December, he was appointed as Shadow Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Music, a role for which he is clearly uniquely qualified. Jeff’s musical tastes and choices are as interesting as his CV. Like me he is a Springsteen devotee, and he gets a special Music Talks Award for choosing my favourite ever song – Thunder Road . His song choices are:60’s       All My Loving                                                                                         The Beatles 70’s       Thunder Road                                                                                        Bruce Springsteen 80’s       What Difference Does It Make?                                                 The Smiths 90’s       12 Reasons Why I Love Her                                                           My Life Story00’s       Grey Day (Paper Faces Mix)                                                          Zoot Woman10’s       Love Song                                                                                                   Lana Del Rey20’s       I’ve Got You Under My Skin                                                            Frank SinatraIf you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .

My guest in this episode is Randy Brown who is another introduction from my dear friend Jesse Jackson at the Set Lusting Bruce Podcast. Randy has two major passions in his life, Basketball and Music. The former was his career for over 20 years and is the reason for the title of the episode as he was a College Basketball Coach at seven different Universities across America. As for music, it’s been a lifelong passion that ‘has been there at the best of times and the worst of times.’ Randy has had to deal with both ends of that spectrum including the tragic loss of two of his daughters at a young age to a rare disease and overcoming his alcohol addiction (he has now been sober for 10 years). Despite so much adversity in his life Randy’s message, as you will hear, is one of hope which he imparts in his book ‘Rebound Forward’ and his work as an inspirational speaker and life coach. Friendships are everything to Randy and it’s no coincidence that he knows the performers on several his song selections, all of whom have spent time at Randy’s permanent residence which is a 35’ Winnebago that he has turned into his own musical Hall of Fame. This episode was also a great personal lesson for me. Given Randy is a Springsteen fan I was surprised to realise he is also a massive Ted Nugent fan. I am embarrassed to say, because of that, I did consider cancelling the recording as Ted’s politics and views on gun control are very different to mine and I did that awful thing of then making assumptions about who Randy was. I’m so pleased I resisted that thought and I will always be grateful to Randy for giving me a powerful reminder that ‘we have more in common than divides us’ and music is great common ground to occupy. Randy’s song selections are: 50's - That'll Be The Day - Buddy Holly, The Crickets60's - Journey To The Centre of the Mind - The Amboy Dukes70's - China Grove - The Doobie Brothers80's - Scarred But Smarter - Drivin N Cryin90's - My Way Down - Chris Duarte Group00's - It's Not You - Halestorm10's - Oh My God - Sixx :A.M.20's - Shapeshifting - Joe SatrianiIf you would like to be on the show then please contact me at musictalkspod@outlook.com Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod . You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .