This episode of The Grumpy Cyclist Talks Music is a special one.

I’m chatting with Jill — a lifelong friend, and really more like part of the Morris family — who I’ve known for nearly 50 years. Our connection goes way back, with both of our dads serving in the army, and music playing a huge part in the soundtrack of our lives growing up.

Jill takes us right back to her childhood, with the warm, easy sounds of John Denver and The Eagles, and memories of listening to BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) — the station that brought music from home to families wherever they were posted.

We relive our boarding school days (yes, we went to the same one!), where bedroom walls were covered in posters and Sunday evenings meant one thing: recording the Top 40 and hoping your finger was quick enough on the pause button. The excitement of new releases from Duran Duran, Culture Club, Wham!, Spandau Ballet and more — rushing out to get that latest 7” single — was unbeatable.

From those cassette-tape days to now, Jill’s musical taste has grown and evolved into a love of jazz and classical music, while still happily buying tracks on Apple like the rest of us modern music lovers.

And the passion for live music is still alive and well — she and her partner Alistair are already looking forward to seeing RUSH live in autumn 2026!

It’s an episode full of nostalgia, laughter, shared memories, and proof that the music we grow up with never really leaves us.