There's a great tale behind the career of Diesel. In fact, there's many great stories from a life that's taken him half-way around the world. American Mark Lizotte began playing in bands at a young age but it was in Australia he found fame with "Johnny Diesel and The Injectors". He talks about his career challenges as well as working with his famous brother-in-law.
Singer/songwriter Richard Clapton has always been a Bob Dylan fan....and boy does he have a great Bob Dylan anecdote! If you grew up in Australia in the 70's his songs like "Girls On The Avenue", "Deep Water", "Capricorn Dancer" and "Down In The Lucky Country" will form part of your personal soundtrack and here you can discover the stories behind those hits.
Originally when Irene Cara was cast in the movie the movie "Fame" it was in the role of a dancer. When the movie's producers heard her voice they changed the role to that of a singer. The two singles from the movie were both nominated for an Academy Award! The title song became the first of TWO Oscar winning movie themes for Irene Cara.
There has been a lot of one-hit-wonders in the history of the Top 40. Few of those one-offs have had the impact of Percy Sledge's great claim to fame. You might be surprised however that he gave most of the royalties to a couple of friends in a great act of generosity ..... but at the time he didn't know how generous he was being.
He's one of Australia's most famous rock'n'rollers. Ross Wilson fronted the legendary Daddy Cool in the early 70's, produced the ground-breaking Skyhooks albums later in the 70's and then in the 80's returned to the concert stage as the singer for Mondo Rock. Here he shares memories which include a great fan story from his time with Mondo Rock.
English singer/songwriter/record producer Rod Argent is one of the great survivors. Starting out as keyboardist with The Zombies in the 60's, Rod then formed the band Argent in the 70's before beginning a solo career. The musical importance of The Zombies was recognised in 2014 when a plaque was unveiled at the site of their first rehearsal.
In the 80's The Divinyls were one of Australia's most distinctive bands, largely thanks to the stage antics of Chrissie Amphlett. Like a female version of AC/DC's Angus Young, Chrissie appeared on stage in a short school tunic and with plenty of "attitude". The Divinyls might have been dismissed as a gimmick act if not for the songwriting talent of Chrissie Amphlett.
In the 60's one of the USA's most prolific songwriting teams was that of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. In this extensive interview you'll hear how they wrote some of the greatest hits of the era and worked with some of the greats. Neil Diamond and legendary producer Phil Spector were some of their closest colleagues and Ellie Greenwich told some revealing stories about both.
Australia's Hunters and Collectors formed in 1981 and finally called it a day in 1998. Here their singer and major songwriter, Mark Seymour, reveals the hit stories behind two of their songs which are now considered Aussie classics. One has often been used as a sporting anthem, so it may surprise you to hear that Mark Seymour wrote it as a very personal love song.
The keyboardist for Duran Duran, Nick Rhodes, has been part of the band since day one and knows all the band's hit stories. With Ian Keenan he discusses the band's longevity and how their videos have held up. He reveals how a "bleaching" disaster features in one Duran Duran video plus shares a recollection regarding a one-hit-wonder band he produced in the 80's.
