Afleveringen

  • This is Part 2 of the 100th Episode of Music Talks, which is also the final episode of Music Talks.

    Five years and 100 episodes felt to me like a good time to bring things to a close. It has been a fantastic, joyful, fulfilling and most importantly FUN experience doing this Podcast, and it is something I will always treasure.

    To mark this occasion, I thought it was time for me to appear as a guest on my own show and I’m delighted to say that my very first guest, Steve Clayton, agreed to come back and be the host of this episode. Thank you Steve!

    It will be no surprise to anyone that I had quite a lot to say hence splitting the episode into two parts, both of which are a vinyl friendly 45 ish minutes in length!

    Music Talks was originally conceived as a 'music nerd' Podcast but over time it morphed into something different with many guests not just telling their life story but also being incredibly open and honest about the ups and downs they had faced. I felt I had to honour that in these episodes and do the same. In musical terms my episode contains major and minor chords but of course music (and life) is only interesting when there are both!.

    I hope you enjoy the stories and that even for my oldest friends there might be a new story or two in there. As far as the music choices go these were my song choices for Part 2.

    90's - Don't Look Back In Anger *- Oasis

    00's - First Day of My Life - Bright Eyes

    10’s - Long Walk Home - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

    20’s - The Only Road - Elbow

    * The episode was recorded just BEFORE Oasis announced their reunion tour!

    I say my thank you' s at the end of the episode but a heartfelt thanks to all my guests and everyone who ever listened, you gave me SO much for which I will always be grateful!

    To close out Music Talks completely there will be a couple of compilation episodes in October & November and then the annual ' Favourite Albums of the Year' with Steven Routledge in December.

    I hope you will be able to listen to those episodes but in the meantime I hope you enjoy this one :-)


    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 1 of the 100th Episode of Music Talks, which is also the final episode of Music Talks.

    Five years and 100 episodes felt to me like a good time to bring things to a close. It has been a fantastic, joyful, fulfilling and most importantly FUN experience doing this Podcast, and it is something I will always treasure.

    To mark this occasion, I thought it was time for me to appear as a guest on my own show and I’m delighted to say that my very first guest, Steve Clayton, agreed to come back and be the host of this episode. Thank you Steve!

    It will be no surprise to anyone that I had quite a lot to say hence splitting the episode into two parts, both of which are a vinyl friendly 45 minutes in length!

    Music Talks was originally conceived as a 'music nerd' Podcast but over time it morphed into something different with many guests not just telling their life story but also being incredibly open and honest about the ups and downs they had faced. I felt I had to honour that in these episodes and do the same. In musical terms my episode contains major and minor chords but of course music (and life) is only interesting when there are both.

    I hope you enjoy the stories and that even for my oldest friends there might be a new story or two in there. As far as the music choices go these were my choices for Part 1

    50’s - Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’ - From ‘Carousel’

    60’s - I Am The Walrus - The Beatles

    70’s - My Old School - Steely Dan

    80’s - Mary’s Prayer - Danny Wilson

    I mention a lot of other music as well and for Part 1 they can be found here along with my main selections.

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3jCpe8EAqur9pqEI9SW0xj?si=ad7da10f6eb1478f

    I hope you enjoy Part 1 enough that you will be back for Part 2 which will be out on Thursday 12th September.

    Thanks for listening and enjoy!

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

    You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .


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  • September 5th will see the 100th and final episode of Music Talks and I know the guest for that episode pretty well as its ……ME!!

    Given I will be moving chairs I needed someone to be the host of that episode and who better than Steve Clayton, a dear friend, my very first guest on Music Talks and one of the best communicators I know. Given his role at Microsoft is ‘Chief Storyteller’ that’s no surprise.

    The original episode I did with Steve went out on June 25th, 2019, but I didn’t want to just re-post it. The brilliant Andy Rhode at Audionauts has been helping me edit Music Talks for almost three years now and so I asked him to re-edit and remaster that original recording and I think he’s done a great job.

    I was never happy with the sound on that first episode and whilst it’s still not perfect it sounds a lot better than it did. He’s also edited it down to a Vinyl friendly 45 minutes and I’m pleased to say that most of what has been edited out is me not Steve!

    For those of you who have heard the original episode I hope this will be an enjoyable reminder and for anyone that hasn’t then I hope this will be a good introduction to the host of Episode 100.

    Steve’s music choices were:

    70’s – Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac

    80’s - Where The Streets Have No Name - U2

    90’s - Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack

    00’s - The Planets Bend Between Us Snow Patrol

    10’s - A Sky Full of Stars Coldplay

    Enjoy and see you on September 4th

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

    You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .


  • Welcome to Episode 99 of Music Talks, it’s a significant one with a very special guest. The guest in question is Kevin Clement who amongst other things is the host of the brilliantly named radio show ‘Mysterious Debris’ on Rockin’ the Suburbs Radio.

    Kevin is special to me because prior to starting Music Talks I did some pilot episodes with my dear friend Jesse Jackson as a co-host under the name ‘Teatime with Terry’ (I thought that was a great name until somebody said they thought it was a golf podcast).

    The original plan was that we would have friends of mine or Jessie’s as our ‘guinea pigs’ to test out the format. Jesse was good enough to post the first couple of episodes on Setlustingbruce.com at which point an email arrived from Kevin saying, ‘like the format and love to be on the show’! Believe me I can still remember the excitement 😊

    I have always thought of Kevin as my first guest, but the episode was only ever a pilot and I always knew I would have him back on to Music Talks at the right time. Episode 99 is the right time as Kevin is also going to be my last guest as after much deliberation, I have decided to bring Music Talks to a close. There will be Episode 100 and the guest is me……..! I will give my thoughts, reflections and thanks in that episode as I don’t want to detract from what is for me just a great guest and episode.

    Kevin was born in 1973 in a small town called Thibodaux. At the age of three the family moved to Baton Rouge and that is where Kevin lives today with his wife Alisa and their 10-year-old daughter Sarah.

    Music and Broadcasting have always been a love for Kevin, and he was spinning his first discs at the age of 10 at the local roller-skating rink ‘Skate Galaxy’. His degree is in Broadcasting & PR, and he did stints in numerous radio stations with great names like KNSU, KPEL and KTBY. In the early Noughties after marrying Alissa he changed careers and for the last 17 years has worked in the Juvenile Court System in Baton Rouge which is a job he describes as presenting new challenges every single day.

    Kevin returned to his broadcasting roots in Feb 2022 with the launch of his radio show ‘Miscellaneous Debris’ which really is a must listen. You can find it at www.suburbspod.com/radio/ or on MIxCloud.

    Kevin’s song choices are:

    70’s – Superstition - Stevie Wonder

    80’s – A Forest - The Cure

    90’s – Sick of Myself - Matthew Sweet

    00’s – Save It For A Rainy Day - The Jayhawks

    10’s – Perfect World - Broken Bells

    20’s – The Luckier You Get - American Aquarium

    Enjoy:-)

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 Nicki Cockburn.

    Nicki now lives in Cardiff but was born in 1978 in Zimbabwe. At 5 months old, after her Mum insisted on a second opinion, she was diagnosed as being blind. For sighted people like me that would feel like a massive burden and challenge but in talking about it Nicki says “I’m really happy with it, you have to adapt’ and “it’s been a problem for a lot of people, but never for me”.

    Nicki doesn’t shy away from discussing some of the challenges and prejudice she has faced but her indomitable spirit shines through our whole conversation and I found it deeply inspirational, and I trust you will too.

    The other thing that shines through is Nicki’s deep love of music which has been a positive force in her life for so long. She references over 70 artists in our chat and it’s not everyone that can go from ‘The Chicken Song’ through Jaco Pastorius to Rage Against the Machine!

    Nicki isn’t just a listener she is also a musician. Her musical journey has gone through Piano, Flute and Guitar before she arrived in early 40’s at the Bass Guitar, which describes as ‘her instrument’ and one of her song choices specifically reflect that.

    Her song choices are :

    70’s Your My Best Friend Don Williams

    80’s Rio Duran Duran

    90’s The Car Song Elastica

    00’s Bass Tribute Victor Wooten

    10’s Trust In You Lauren Dagle

    20’s Too Good For Giving Up Liam Gallagher

    Enjoy :-)

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

    You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .


  • My guest today is dear friend and an ex-colleague, Derrick Mc Court.

    Derrick and I first met in 2001 when he joined Microsoft in Ireland. Our paths crossed many times and in many ways over the years and it has always been a pleasure to spend time with him.

    Today he is General Manager of the Customer Success Unit in Microsoft UK and sits on the UK Board. A quick look at his LinkedIn Profile will show the considerable skills he has but for me the most significant thing is that in amongst all the corporate madness he has managed to remain impressively grounded and that comes across in our chat.

    Derrick has three passions which are key to him keeping his feet on the ground the first of which is his family. He was born in 1969 and grew up in Belfast during ‘The Troubles’ which he reflects on in a typically thoughtful and moving way. For the past 15 years home has been in Edinburgh where he lives with his wife and their two boys Conner and Joe. His eldest boy Jamie got married last week and his daughter Lucy lives in London and works in I.T.

    The second passion, as you will hear is music and at festivals like Download that is shared with Connor and Joe.

    His final passion is running, and he is well on the way to completing the ‘Big 6’ Marathons and getting his ‘Six Star Finisher Medal’. Music and Playlists are clearly an important part of his running regime hence the title of the episode.

    Derrick’s song selections are:

    70’s I’ve Got A Feeling The Beatles

    80’s Alive And Kicking Simple Minds

    90’s Paranoid Android Radiohead

    00’s I Predict A Riot Kaiser Chiefs

    10’s X-Ray Visons Clutch

    20’s Mr. Motivator Idles

    Enjoy 😊

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 Lynn Asher ( www.lynnasher.com ) who was introduced to Music Talks by a recent guest Paul Webb (Ep 92).

    Lynn is a native of Portland Maine but she had a childhood dream to move to California. It took some time to fulfil her dream but this year Lynn celebrates 30 years living in California and her musical career spans a similar timescale.

    Despite being a ‘late bloomer’ Lynn has performed and recorded with many big names in the music business including:

    · Big Brother & The Holding Company

    · Jerry Harrison - Talking Heads,

    · Bob Weir- Grateful Dead

    · Narada Michael Walden - Producer - Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Barbra Streisand. Drummer for Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jeff Beck, Aretha Franklin, & Journey.

    Lynn writes her own original material, one of which is the song choice for the 2000’s and was also the assistant to Tracy Chapman for a time. As you will hear at the start of the episode there was also a live appearance with a big musical hero of mine ……

    In 2009, Lynn became a vocal coach and it has become a real passion, particularly working with young singers, one of which provides her song choice for the 2020’s (www.annaharrell.net )

    Lynn’s story is a great musical journey but there is also a personal journey and adversity to be dealt with. In Lynn’s case this was dealing with Breast Cancer on three occasions, and I hope you find her insight into how she thought and dealt with that as inspirational as I did.

    Lynn’s song choices are.

    60’s - Hey Jude - The Beatles

    70’s - You Should Be Dancing - Bee Gees

    80’s - You Can Sleep While I Drive - Melissa Etheridge

    90’s - Why - Annie Lennox

    00’s - Now That You’re Gone - Lynn Asher

    10’s - Freedom - (From ‘Django Unchained’)

    20’s - Night Light - Anna Harrell

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 Claire Sanderson who was introduced to the show by an early guest and now a dear friend, Ian Braisby.

    Claire was born and grew up in Cornwall with her parents and two elder brothers. She describes her childhood as being ‘surrounded by all types of music’ and that breadth is reflected in her song choices and the much longer list she sent to me. Her song choices are:

    80’s I Should Be So Lucky Kylie Minogue

    90’s I’ll Do Anything For Love (But I Wont Do That) Meat Loaf

    00’s Song For The Road David Ford

    10’s F**kin’ Perfect Pink

    20’s I’ll See You In My Dreams Bruce Springsteen

    At 18 Claire moved to Cardiff to study Music at the University and has had the good sense to stay in the city ever since. By day she is a Civil Servant, but flexible working enables her to follow her passion for music as a serious amateur musician who plays in an orchestra and sings in a choir. She also recently started doing on-line talks about music which you can find at

    https://events.restless.co.uk/event-calendar/?categories=music

    Music has been a constant in Claire’s life, and it has provided both comfort and joy. But she also talks very openly about the challenges she faced in studying and playing at the highest level and there are great lessons for all of us in that story.

    A recent convert to the delights of Bruce Frederick Springsteen the episode closes with a poignant song choice from his most recent album ‘Letter To You’ and a Music Talks first where we play two versions of the same song !

    Enjoy 😊

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 Mark Dempsey who comes to Music Talks via my dear friend Jesse Jackson at the great Podcast ‘SetLustingBruce’.

    Like all Springsteen fans Mark is passionate about Bruce’s music but the joy of this episode is how much passion Mark has for all his song choices. If any of them are new to you I’m certain you will be seeking them out after having heard Mark talk about them and they are great choices:

    70’s - Three Steps To Heaven Showaddywaddy

    80’s - Dancing In The Dark Bruce Springsteen

    90’s - Polaroids Shawn Colvin

    00’s - Stuck Between Stations The Hold Steady

    10’s - The Ceiling The Wild Feathers

    20’s - No Mercy Nils Lofgren

    Bristol born and bred Mark celebrated his 50th birthday at the end of 2023 and so doing Music Talks was a good opportunity to look back and reflect. He has lived most of his life in the South West of England but for five years between 2011 and 2016 he and his wife Catherine lived in Toronto.

    With the same passion and enthusiasm he shows for music, Mark talks us through the delight of moving from ‘sleepy Wiltshire’ to the most multicultural and multiracial city in the world. As you would expect that experience also informs his song choice for the 2010's.

    In 94 episodes of Music Talks there have been many great stories, but Mark’s closing story in ‘Final Thoughts’ is one of my absolute favourites. It’s also where the title of the episode comes from but that’s all im going to say ……….

    Enjoy 😊

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 2 we each count down from 5 to 1 and reveal our ‘Album of the Year '

    ‘Chapter Markers’ contains full details of songs/artists/albums and there is a summary list below. You can also use 'Chapter markers ' to play individual choices if you wish.

    Steven's Album Choices:
    5 – ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ - Teenage Fanclub

    4 – ‘Rat Saw God’ - Wednesday

    3 – ‘The Ballad of Darren’ - Blur

    2 – ‘It All Began With Loneliness’ - The Anchoret

    1 – Roll Up A” Song - Gonzalez Smith


    My Album Choices:
    5 – ‘IDES’ - King Creosote

    4 – ‘Joy’All’ -Jenny Lewis

    3 – ‘Strays’ - Margo Price

    2 – The Great White Sea Eagle - James Yorkston/Nina Persson/ The Second Hand Orchestra

    1 – ‘The Candle and the Flame’ - Robert Forster

    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 [email protected] , I really look forward to hearing from you.

    Wishing you a very Happy New Year and lets hope 2024 is another great year for music.

    Music Talks will be back with the first episode of the New Year on Thursday February 1st, 2024.

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 28/12/23) we go from 5 to 1.

    'Chapter Markers' contains full details of songs/artists/albums and there is a summary list below. You can also use 'Chapter markers ' to play individual choices if you wish.

    Steven's Album Choices:
    10 - 'Stone' by BARONESS
    9 - 'In Between Thoughts ...A New World' by Rodrigo y Gabriela
    8 - 'The Storm Rages On by James McKeiver & The Starry Sky Band
    7 - 'Bird Machine' by Sparklehorse
    6 - 'Oromet' by Oromet

    My Album Choices:
    10 - 'Black Bay' by Silver Moth
    9 - 'Folded Landscapes' by Erland Cooper & the Scottish Ensemble
    8 - 'My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross' by Anohni & The Johnsons
    7 - 'First Two Pages of Frankenstein' by The National
    6 - 'Every Acre' by H.C. McEntire

    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 [email protected] , I really look forward to hearing from you.

    Have a great Christmas and here’s to 2024 being another great year for music.



    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 award winning author and playwright Gabriel Bergmoser.

    Gabriel is one of my youngest guests at 32 but, as you will hear, he has packed a lot into those years and he describes himself as ‘crime author, playwright, podcaster, actor, dog lover and massive Springsteen fan’.

    He was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia when he was a few months old and that has been home over since. He now lives in Melbourne but does a great job of painting a picture of what growing up in rural Australia was like for a creative, non-sporty boy who was an aggressively average student (his phrase not mine!)

    A visit to the cinema to see ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ lit his creative spark and it has stayed with him ever since. A quick glance at his Wiki page (Gabriel Bergmoser - Wikipedia) will show how prodigious and successful he has been over the past 10 years.

    Highlights include winning the Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award in 2015 and four years later signing a two-book deal with Harper Collins. The first of the books was ‘The Hunted’ which was a worldwide success and resulted in a book deal with Faber in the UK and a subsequent film deal.

    Despite all that success Gabriel is clear eyed about the reality of being a creative in 2023 and the fact that there will always be ups and downs whoever you are. Similarly, he delivers a strong message about hard work and application being more important than talent and the need at times to ‘Just Do It’.

    As you would expect he tells a great story around each of his song selection which were:

    90’s Kiss Me Sixpence None the Richer

    00’s Mr. Brightside The Killers

    10’s Unbelievers Vampire Weekend

    20’s Dorothea Taylor Swift

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 Paul Webb who comes to the show via an introduction from a previous guest Nick Sheppard (Ep.53) – Many thanks Nick.

    Paul is a self-confessed ‘Music Talks Junkie’ and I love the fact that he listens to the episodes on his journey to and from Fly Fishing. Originally from the UK he’s lived in the U.S for over 30 years and now has the joy of living in Bend, Oregon which I am very jealous of having had a couple of delightful holidays there and at one point we seriously considered retiring there.

    Music is a clear passion for Paul, both listening but also playing guitar. He describes himself disparagingly as ‘a hack’ but I hardly think that’s fair particularly given he’s a left hander who plays right-handed. His musical passion is complemented by several others including:

    · Family – his wife Talley and their two children Ellis & Dylan.

    · Climbing – Paul shares several fun, inspirational stories about climbing as well as one about climbing the Royal Arches in Yosemite and almost not making it down.

    · Cycling – with three friends he did The Race Across America, which is 3200 miles in 7 days. This was the inspiration for one of his song choices and the title of the episode.

    He also shares openly and movingly about the challenges his son Ellis faced with addiction and how he came very close to death. I’m delighted to say that Ellis is now well into his recovery and in Paul’s own words is thriving.

    Paul finishes his song selections with a performance of an original song by himself and his younger child Dylan. There’s a great story behind it and the performance is just exquisite.

    Paul’s song selections are:

    60’s - Moon River Audrey Hepburn
    70’s - Carillon Sky
    80’s - Love Is A Stranger Eurythmics
    90’s - Signe Eric Clapton
    00’s - Fix You Coldplay
    10’s - Catch & Release (Deepend Remix) Matt Summers
    20’s - Made It Out of Clay Dylan Webb


    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 Giorgos Gavriil who generously allowed me to use his English name of ‘George’ through our chat.

    Born in 1975 in the port city of Piraeus in Greater Athens, George continues to live in Greece but has moved to the mountains from the sea where he lives with wife and his two young children.

    He was a late bloomer in terms of music but when things clicked in his late teens there was no looking back. He describes himself as ‘compulsive’ and ‘obsessive’ and this has driven a lifelong passion that’s produced a deep love and an encyclopaedic knowledge of popular music. In recent years those same characteristics have driven his learning to play guitar which he impressively practices an hour a day!

    George was good enough to provide me with his list of 101 Favourite Albums and it makes for fascinating reading. We tale about some of those albums during the episode but if anyone would like to see the full list, please email me at [email protected]

    There is a strong theme of passion and emotion that runs through all of George’s song selections and it’s a list I really love. His song selections were:

    70’s Mind Power James Brown

    80’s Tango Till They’re Sore Tom Waits

    90’s Love You Should’ve Come Over Jeff Buckley

    00’s A Thousand Kisses Deep Leonard Cohen

    10’s Conversation 16 The National

    20’s Love Is The Main Thing Fontaines D.C.

    Enjoy :-)

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 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 - Tavares
    80’s - Modern Love - David Bowie
    90’s - Fumbling Towards Ectasy - Sarah McLachlan
    00’s - Lonesome Day - Bruce Springsteen
    10’s - Tightrope - Janelle Monae
    20’s - As It Was - Harry Styles

    Enjoy :-)

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    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 Floyd

    80’s - Down in The Bottom - Colin James

    90’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 [email protected]

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  • 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 - Carpenters

    80’s - Waterfall - The Stone Roses

    90’s - Dead Flag Blues - Godspeed You! Black Emperor

    00’s - Slow Show The National

    10’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 [email protected]

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  • 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 Abba

    80’s Just Can’t Get Enough Depeche Mode

    90’s Friday I’m In Love The Cure

    00’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 [email protected]

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  • 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 Springsteen


    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

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  • My guest in this episode is friend and colleague Mike Palmer.

    A Middlesborough lad, Mike moved to Manchester in 1984 to study Computing at UMIST where his degree supervisor was Bernard Richards, one of Alan Turing’s last students. Mike has never left the Northwest and he and his family have become committed ‘Mancophiles’, not least because of the great environment the city provides for music and the arts.

    Mike is a passionate music lover but it’s words that really impact him and as per the title of the episode on occasions make him cry. Similarly, recorded music is great but for him it’s all about the live performance. He inherited this love from his parents (who met Ella Fitzgerald!) and he and his wife Gerri have passed that on to his two daughters Emily and Anna.

    Consequently, each of his song choices are from bands he has seen live.

    Mike has a wealth of great stories including:

    · The Clash at Manchester Apollo in 1981

    · Bowie at Murrayfield in 1983 on the Let’s Dance Tour

    · The Smiths at Middlesborough Town Hall Crypt in 1984

    · Chatting with Michael Stipe at Leeds Warehouse in 1984

    · Asking Don Letts to move out of his seat at a Big Audio Dynamite gig in 1986

    · Radiohead at Glastonbury in 1997

    · The XX at a secret venue under Victoria Station with 60 people in 2013

    · The joy of attending Green Man every year with about 20 family and friends

    Mike’s song choices are:

    70’s (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais The Clash

    80’s New England Billy Bragg

    90’s Fake Plastic Trees Radiohead

    00’s One Day Like This Elbow

    10’s Make Me Feel Janelle Monae

    20’s The 345 Self Esteem

    If you would like to be on the show then please contact me at [email protected]

    Please follow and like Music Talks on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/musictalkspod .

    You can also find me on Twitter @musictalkspod .