Sting and The Police were labelled New Wave when they first emerged in the UK but did they ever consider themselves to be "punk"? Sting has his say on that, talks about the famous desk where he once wrote songs, reminisces about the legendary 60's band that played at his wedding and tells how he came to record with Dire Straits.
Dewey Bunnell of the band America has been there throughout the group's history. In fact it was a 19 year old Dewey who wrote the band's first hit "A Horse With No Name". Since then there's been many hits and also the curious habit of giving their albums titles beginning with "H". Dewey reveals how it all began.
Johnny Rivers sold more than 30 million records between 1964 and 1978. Some of his best known hits include "Summer Rain", "Slow Dancin" and "Secret Agent Man". Perhaps less well known is the fact that he gave a number of singers and songwriters their big break with his record label and publishing company. Johnny Rivers has some of the best hit stories you'll ever hear.
Peter Sarstedt left us in January 2017 aged 75. You'll probably recall him for his worldwide number one "Where Do You Go To My Lovely". It's considered a serious love song but that's not the way, or why, he wrote it. Peter Sarstedt also tells the story of the notable record he shares with his brothers in relation to the British Top Forty.
Status Quo's Rick Parfitt is sadly no longer with us however this chat will bring back memories for Quo fans. Rick left us on Christmas Eve 2016 at age 68. He recalls the hits "Wild Side Of Life", "Pictures Of Matchstick Men", their appearance at Live Aid in 1985 and how Rick could see the band ending. You can also access our chat with Status Quo's Francis Rossi here.
Jimmy Webb is the only artist ever to have received Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration. Amazingly he has only ever had one of his songs go all the way to the top of the charts in the USA and it will probably be a surprise as to which one it is. He also has a great story about a visit to Galveston.
Many singers have left their backing bands behind but few have done it in such a dramatic way as Wayne Fontana. He reveals why he left the Mindbenders, how two of the members went on to other successful groups and which hit song he turned down only to see it go to number one for another band from the same city as Wayne Fontana.
Here's a man who became an overnight success AFTER five or six albums. "Silk Degrees" made Boz Scaggs a star thanks to classics like "Lido Shuffle", "What Can I Say" and "Lowdown". Boz discusses what made that album such a hit and reveals his favourite song from it.
Few Australian musicians have had the success and longevity enjoyed by Joe Camilleri. In the 70's his band Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons enjoyed the type of success which the Black Sorrows enjoyed in the late 80's and early 90's. He claims they always struggled to find hit singles but there was one they didn't even want to include on an album!
Starting your music career in your hometown is exciting but Johnny Tillotson found most aspects of his career exciting and shares those memories. Johnny explains how he introduced an Australian talent to an American TV audience and is surprised to learn in this interview that a TV show he sang the theme for was also shown on the other side of the world.
