Quote: "If vocal talent equalled financial success, Paul Carrack would be a bigger name than legends such as Phil Collins or Elton John." Paul has often been a quiet achiever as a session keyboard player as well as singer with bands such as Ace and Mike & The Mechanics. Here he chats about his career and explains the meaning behind the hit "How Long".
In Part 1 Justin Hayward explains how he began his professional career and signed a contract which gave someone else the rights to some of his best known songs. You'll hear the stories behind many of the Moody Blues hits and you'll also want to listen to Part 2 to hear about his involvement with "Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds".
Part 2 of Ian Keenan's interview with Justin Hayward is just as illuminating as Part 1 with the stories behind more of the Moody Blues hits. Songs such as "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" and "Steppin' In A Slide Zone" are featured plus you'll hear about Justin's involvement with "Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds".
As far as we know Tony Christie is the only English singer awarded the freedom of the city for Amarillo, Texas. Tony had a great run of hits in the early 70's and is also remembered for singing the theme to the British TV series "The Protectors" called "Avenues and Alleyways". Tony also has some great stories about the songs he knocked back......and shouldn't have!
In the early 70's the band Jethro Tull were known as one of Britain's leading "progressive rock" exponents. Jethro Tull founder Ian Anderson discusses some of their ground breaking work and tells why he chose to play the flute on stage. He also shares the story of how they came up with their biggest hit single after they were literally instructed to "write a hit".
For some Kiki Dee will bring back memories of just one song - her #1 one duet with Elton John, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart". It was a huge hit and she does fondly reminisce about her work with Elton (and the jokes he played on her), however there were other hits for Kiki including one of the best love songs of the 70's.
The former manager of Elton John, Queen and Kiki Dee has some great stories to tell. John Reid was there when Queen first went to the top of the charts with "Bohemian Rhapsody". For 28 years he managed Elton John's career and has some great stories about Elton's generosity. He also managed the Motown Record label in the UK and had success with that too.
In the second part of this interview with Alan Parsons there's more of the stories behind the hits of the Alan Parsons Project as well as more about his work as a record producer. He is of course famous for working with The Beatles but did you know he also produced hits for Steve Harley and Pilot? If you missed Part 1 it's here.
This is Part 1 of a chat with Alan Parsons of the Alan Parsons Project. He tells how he went from being a recording engineer to leading his own band, whilst at the same time not touring or having his photo taken very much. He recalls his ground-breaking work with Pink Floyd and why he argued with Al Stewart. Make sure you hear Part 2!
Few artists have had as many different names as the late Alvin Stardust. He adopted his most famous moniker when he became a "glam-rocker", though his work as a singer goes much further back in time. He talks about the various names of his career and has an amazing story about an incredible autograph collection he amassed on a guitar his mother gave him.
