Posts

Billy Idol- Don’t Stop

It's the all-important 1981 "Don't Stop"  EP by Billy Idol. In the last spasms of the London Punk Rock scene circa 1980, Generation X and their front man Billy Broad had the career arc of a bottle rocket, briefly filling English dance floors with the celebratory single "Dancing with Myself"and a cover of "Mony Mony". But Punk Rock's purpose of being a disruptive force to reset all the tumblers of popular music was practically fulfilled by then, and had no second act, so Billy Idol needed a new start. Billy Idol is my guest In the Studio.

The Pretenders- Pretenders II- Chrissie Hynde

We had never met anyone in rock music quite like The Pretenders bandleader Chrissie Hynde, and honestly in the  forty years since, I still haven't...I have Ms. Hynde here to speak for herself In the Studio  about The Pretenders/ Pretenders II, one of rock's most important one-two Post-punk punches.
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David Bowie- Station to Station 45th Anniversary

"The way you change Music is by changing the music," David Bowie told me, without any hint of irony whatsoever, as we discussed  1976's Station to Station. Songs include "Golden Years","Stay" ,"TVC 1-5" ( Bowie said that the unused tune for the Man...Earth soundtrack was about a girl and her relationship with her television),"Wild is the Wind" , and the title song, often cited by post-punk bands including The Cars, Talking Heads, and Gary Numan as a major influence.

Simple Minds- Sanctify Yourself- Sydney 12-7-12

We saw the endearing, lovable Jim Kerr, guitarist Charlie Burchill, and Simple Minds  perform in Dallas/ Ft.Worth in November 2018, and even before entering the auditorium proper we were alerted to the explosive sounds of "Big Music" from the…

The Police- Outlandos d’Amour- Sting, Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland

"Outlandos d'Amour'   has a certain grotesque, naive charm about it," Sting confesses in this interview about the Police debut,"but 'Regatta de Blanc'  was infinitely a much better record."
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Pretenders- Learning to Crawl 35th Anniversary- Chrissie Hynde

 Chrissie Hynde with the life-and-death story, times two, behind one of the Eighties' great comeback albums Learning to Crawl   in this particularly tough yet tender classic rock interview about the January 1984 Pretenders effort including…

Billy Idol- Rebel Yell 35th Anniversary

Billy Idol joins me In the Studio on the thirty-fifth anniversary of Rebel Yell to invoke the eleventh commandment: thou shalt have no Idols before Billy! -Redbeard

Simple Minds- Celebrate the Greatest Hits pt2- Jim Kerr

By 1995 there was a real question whether Scottish band Simple Minds could remain relevant in a third decade. Jim Kerr reveals just how close they came to packing it.

Squeeze’s Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook-Crying in My Sleep 10-91

From October 1991 in Arlington TX nightclub live on Q102, Squeeze mainstays Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook strumming through "Crying in My Sleep" remarkably with no stage, no monitors, no PA,  no lights, straight off the floor. Wow, what…